The developers of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said they were not opposed to the Slovak authorities publishing a contact on the drug. At the same time, they stressed that in this case, the country should have made public the contract for the Pfizer vaccine.
“Of course, for comparison, the contract for the supply of the Pfizer vaccine should have been published. Based on real application data, Hungary stated that Sputnik V performed better than Pfizer. Maybe the contract for the supply of “Sputnik V” is also better? “- said in a message on the Twitter account of the Russian vaccine.
On the eve, the head of the Ministry of Health of Slovakia, Vladimir Lengvarsky, said that the country would publish the text of the agreement on the purchase of “Sputnik V” even if the Russian side did not agree. According to him, the country’s authorities will wait several days until Russia comments on the situation.
The use of the Russian vaccine in Slovakia caused a government split in the country. So, on March 1, it was reported that Slovakia had registered the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. On the same day, it became known that the country is likely to begin using the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, without waiting for the drug to be registered with the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The use of the vaccine was to begin in the country in the second half of March. Its use without registration in the EMA is opposed by two of the four parties of the government coalition of the republic.
On March 11, the head of the country’s Ministry of Health, Marek Krajci, who issued a permit for the use of the drug, resigned.
On March 30, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Igor Matovic, resigned, having previously announced his readiness to give up his post to the head of the Ministry of Finance, Eduard Heger, and take his place. This decision was made to resolve the differences in the Cabinet of Ministers that arose because of Matovich’s position on the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. contract.
“RDIF has asked the Slovak government to send the vaccine to an EU certified laboratory for testing [входит в сеть OMCL] and on April 6, 2021, he sent a letter asking him to return the vaccine due to numerous contract violations so that it could be used in other countries, ”the developers of the drug said.
On April 9, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov expressed confidence that the situation with the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in Slovakia would not undermine attitudes towards it in the European Union.
Sputnik V became the first coronavirus vaccine in Russia and the world. The drug was developed by specialists from the Gamaleya Center. It was registered on August 11, 2020.
On April 19, it became known that the effectiveness of the Sputnik V vaccine was 97.6% according to the results of a study of data on 3.8 million vaccinated Russians. An update on the drug’s efficacy will be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal in May 2021, according to the developers.