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Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine It will have to wait longer for the World Health Organization’s decision on emergency use against the coronavirus.
A WHO official said Wednesday that the organization had to delay the evaluation process for the vaccine because of the difficulties posed by Russia. occupation of Ukraine.
“We had to go to inspections in Russia. WHO Deputy Director-General Dr. Mariangela Simão said at a press conference in Geneva that it was postponed to 7 March and these inspections were postponed to a later date. “The assessment was affected by the situation along with the inspections.”
Dr. Among the many problems faced by agency investigators are barriers to booking flights to Russia and using credit cards, Simão said. After Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, most Western countries closed airspaces to Russian planes and Mastercard and Visa suspended operations In Russia.
Dr. Simão said a new calendar will be prepared as soon as possible.
Two doses of Sputnik V developed By the Gamaleya Research Institute, part of the Russian Ministry of Health. Russia began distributing the vaccine in the fall of 2020, and regulators in more than 70 countries have approved its use, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which supports the development of the vaccine.
However, Sputnik V has yet to be approved by the European Union’s main drug regulator or the World Health Organization. Russians and other travelers getting the vaccine have trouble getting into the European Union or the United States.
Despite Russian President Vladimir V. Putin calling Sputnik a medical breakthrough, the country failed many times to follow international procedure and provide all the data foreign regulators need to assess the safety of a vaccine was rushed Through large-scale clinical trials to accelerate its fall 2020 launch. An EU health official accused The Russian government has repeatedly delayed inspections of Russian facilities last fall. But Russian officials insist that delays in the approval process are political.
Russia overcame an obstacle With the publication of final-stage trial results in the British medical journal The Lancet in February 2021 showing the Sputnik V vaccine to be safe and highly effective. Even then, many countries including Brazil and South Africarefused to use it. Ukraine also does not recognize Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.
United Nations-sponsored Covax program Organizations that distribute vaccines globally to low- and middle-income countries cannot use vaccines not approved by WHO.
About half of Russian adults are fully vaccinated. Our World in Data A project at Oxford University.
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