VIENNA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th April, 2021) Austrian authorities are checking reports about difficulties with the authorization of Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V in Slovakia and Brazil, but positively assess its negotiations with Russia on the purchase of the drug, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Friday.
"Of course, the health ministry checks all these reports from different countries. However the negotiations with the Russian side are going well. Initially, there was an idea to use Sputnik V if necessary without the approval of European medical regulator EMA, but we agreed ... to do this only after receiving EMA authorization. At the same time, the later this approval is received, the less necessity there will be," Kurz said at a press conference.
The chancellor concluded that it will depend on the EMA decision whether Austria uses Sputnik V.
Earlier in April, Brazil's health regulator Anvisa rejected a regional government request to import the Russian-made vaccine. The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which markets Sputnik V abroad, described the decision as "politically motivated," citing a US Department of Health report that the United States had attempted to persuade Brazil not to use the vaccine. On Thursday, the Sputnik V developers said they would launch a legal defamation suit against Anvisa for "knowingly spreading false and inaccurate information."
Slovakia received the first batch of Sputnik V on March 1. The purchase was initiated by Igor Matovic, the country's prime minister at the time, and former Health Minister Marek Krajci, who later resigned, as the purchase of the vaccine without EMA approval triggered a massive backlash.
In April, the Slovak State Institute of Drug Control claimed that the Sputnik V producer had failed to provide evidence to substantiate vaccine safety and effectiveness. The Russian Direct Investment Fund criticized the Slovak government for testing the vaccine in a laboratory that is not officially certified by the European Union. It also accused the drug regulator of being engaged in a disinformation campaign against the Russian vaccine.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund later requested Slovakia to return the 200,000 doses of Sputnik V, citing contract violations.
In total, the Sputnik V vaccine has been approved for emergency use in sixty countries worldwide.
