Countries 'Sovereign' To Decide On COVID-19 Vaccine Approval - WHO Europe Adviser

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2021) All countries in the World Health Organization's (WHO) European Region are "sovereign" to decide which coronavirus vaccines they choose to approve, Siddhartha Datta, WHO Europe's program manager for vaccine-preventable disease and immunization, said on Thursday.

During a regional press conference, Datta responded to a journalist's question regarding Hungary's decision to begin rolling out COVID-19 vaccines produced in Russia and China, in spite of the European Medicines Agency's lack of approval.

"Every member state in the WHO European Region, or globally, is sovereign to decide on the use of a vaccine, and I think we need to start acknowledging that vaccines, irrespective of their origin or the country, need to adhere to the principles of safety, efficacy, and quality," Datta said.

Hungary on Wednesday became the first European Union member state to begin using a COVID-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinopharm, after it gained regulatory approval in the country on January 29.

The EU nation received a shipment of 100,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine on Wednesday, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in late January that discussions were ongoing over the purchase of two million doses.