French President Emmanuel Macron does not believe that the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus can be used in the European Union to accelerate vaccination, since the drug must first receive approval from the European sanitary authorities.
In an interview with CBS, which aired on April 18, Macron clarified that Europe lacks the resources that they now have: EU countries will be able to meet their vaccination goals with their resources.
“We have some very clear principles. Firstly, if there is no approval of the vaccine from our European sanitary authorities, there is no way we can use the vaccine on our territory. At this stage, the Russian vaccine has not been approved by our authorities, ”said Macron.
Also, the French President noted that with the possible approval of the vaccine, temporary resources will still be required to launch the production of Sputnik V in European countries.
On April 12, it was reported that WHO intends to test the production of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in May and June. The date of the safety assessment of the drug will be determined no earlier than June, when all additional information will be received and all inspections will be carried out.
On March 26, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow is awaiting the completion of registration of the Russian vaccine against the Sputnik V coronavirus in WHO and the European Union.
The first COVID-19 vaccine in Russia and the world was registered on August 11, 2020. Sputnik V was developed by specialists from the Gamaleya Center.
According to information published in February by the medical journal The Lancet, according to the results of the third phase of clinical trials of this vaccine, its effectiveness was 91.6% after analyzing data from more than 19 thousand volunteers, in relation to severe cases of COVID-19 – 100%.