Russia offers Sputnik vaccine to make up for EU shortages

Friday, 29 January 2021
Credit: Belga

Russia has offered the European Union doses of its Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, against a backdrop of shortages of other coronavirus vaccines.

In the second quarter of 2021, Russia could deliver 100 million doses of Sputnik V to the EU, the public investment fund that co-finances and sells the vaccine said on Friday.

The doses could be used to vaccinate 50 million people, as two doses are needed for immunity.

In Russia, some 1.5 million people have already received the two doses, reports the Belga news agency.

However, Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine could only be used in the EU if it is approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is currently analysing it.

According to its manufacturer, the Sputnik V vaccine has been approved in 15 countries around the world, including Hungary, which became the first EU member to approve it last week.

In August, Russia was the first country in the world to register a vaccine using Sputnik V. No results of independent studies on the vaccine have been published.

The Brussels Times