Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid called the approval of the Russian vaccine against coronavirus “Sputnik V” by the regulatory authorities of the European Union a condition for the start of supply of the drug to the country, TASS reports.
According to her, a decision will be made in a similar way to purchase a Chinese vaccine from Sinovac or any other substance that is recognized as safe in Brussels. “We will give these vaccines to our people in a completely apolitical way,” Kaljulaid said.
Earlier, the Estonian authorities refused to purchase the Russian drug Sputnik V. Instead, they decided to use the American vaccine from Pfizer. After that, a number of scientists and doctors spoke out in defense of the drug from Russia, they called for avoiding politics in matters of life and health of citizens.
Vaccinations in Estonia began at the end of December 2020, but despite this, the incidence rates of COVID-19 in the republic remain one of the highest in Europe.
Sputnik V was developed by the Russian Gamaleya Research Center for Electrochemistry and became the world's first officially registered vaccine against coronavirus. It was created on the basis of adenovirus, in which the coronavirus gene is embedded. When it enters the cells, it forms proteins in them – they cause an immune response and promote the development of antibodies.
