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In recent days there has been a lot of talk in Italian and European newspapers about the Russian-made Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine and its possible use in Europe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Mario Draghi recently spoke about it, and agreements for the production or testing of the Russian vaccine in Europe have been announced for days. In addition, some politicians – especially conservatives and populists – have argued that the Sputnik V vaccination campaign should start as soon as possible without waiting for authorization from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as has already happened in some European countries. this.
In reality, most European countries, including Italy, are quite cautious about the possibility of using Sputnik V for now, and virtually no one would intend to authorize the use of the vaccine without waiting for the EMA evaluations, which should come. at least in two months. Even with regard to production or testing deals in Europe, which have been discussed in recent days, there have been many announcements made by now, but concrete progress is little or no.
Much of the discussion in recent days has stemmed from a statement by Angela Merkel on Friday, in response to a question about the use of Sputnik V. “We must use all vaccines within the EU that will be authorized by the EMA. I would make a European request, ”Merkel said. “If there is no such order, and I still don’t see any sign in this direction, then we have to go the German way and do it alone.”
In essence, Merkel said that the Russian vaccine can only be used in Germany after EMA approval, so it would be better to make a joint European purchase, as for other vaccines. If there is no purchase in the European Union, Germany will purchase the doses itself.
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The German media have interpreted this phrase as a sign of caution, because Merkel has clearly stated that she intends to wait for the authorization of the EMA, while some Italian newspapers have written, misunderstanding, that the German Chancellor on Sputnik V intended without the Europe. After Draghi, on Friday night at a press conference, made similar statements about Sputnik V (but less clear: “First we must seek European coordination, and then, if not, the opposite will be done”), some newspapers have spoken of a kind of alliance between Germany and Italy to receive the Russian vaccine as soon as possible.
At least judging from what is known so far, no major European country would actually intend to authorize Sputnik V without the recommendation of the EMA or place pending trade orders. So far, the only EU country to pass Sputnik V on its own has been Hungary, whose prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is politically close to Russia. Instead, Slovakia has ordered a series of doses.
Sputnik V is also used in the Republic of San Marino, which is not part of the European Union, to try to reduce problems related to shortage of vaccine supplies.
The EMA started a “continuous review” of Sputnik V in early March: it means that it is evaluating the data available up to the moment it arrives, although Gamaleya, the Russian state-funded laboratory that produced the vaccine, has not done so until now. an official request for authorization. However, the “ongoing review” will greatly expedite the authorization procedures when the application arrives.
It is not yet clear how long the EMA will take for a possible authorization. Republic He writes that it could arrive, “in the best of cases”, in May, because the data provided for now is scarce and, among other things, visits to Russian factories will be needed. In an interview with the German newspaper Berlin newspaperKirill Dmitriev, director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) that financed Gamaleya, said authorization from the EMA could come after June.
Also in recent days, RDIF and other entities have announced that they have made agreements with some factories in Europe for the production of the Sputnik vaccine in Italy, France, Spain and Germany. At the moment, very little is known about these announcements. In Italy, the CEO of Adienne, an Italian-Swiss biotechnology company based in Lugano and with some production plants in Lombardy, announced that he had signed a “private agreement” for the production of the Russian vaccine, but that in any case, the times may be long due to the need for authorization from the health authorities.
– Read also: Can we produce coronavirus vaccines in Italy?
The biotech company ReiThera, which is based in Castel Romano (Lazio) and is producing its own vaccine, has also been cited as a possible production site for Sputnik V. The company has not commented on the matter so far.
There have also been announcements about vaccine testing projects. On Saturday Nicola Zingaretti, president of the Lazio region, announced during a visit to a vaccination center in Rome that “in a few days a first agreement will be signed with the Spallanzani institute for scientific experimentation with the Sputnik V vaccine, obviously pending. of formal authorization from the EMA. ”The experimentation should refer mainly to the effectiveness of the variants, but even in this case it is only an announcement, and in any case we will have to wait for the authorization of the EMA.
So far, 54 countries around the world have authorized the use of the Sputnik V vaccine. On Monday, RFDI reported that 3.5 million people had been vaccinated in Russia, not many compared to the total population of 145 million.
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