The Italian Institute of Infectious Diseases named after Lazzaro Spallanzani gave a positive opinion on the Russian vaccine against coronavirus Sputnik V. RIA Novosti reports.
“The effectiveness of the vaccine is more than 92 percent, and it is absolutely safe,” said the head of the medical institution, Professor Francesco Vaya, on the air of the first channel of the state television “RAI”. He explained that such a conclusion was made by scientists based on the results of their own research of data on the Russian drug.
Vaya added that the conclusion has been transferred to the Italian Ministry of Health, it should be conveyed to the head of government, Mario Draghi. At the same time, the professor stressed that the conclusion is exclusively “scientific and technical in nature.” “If the vaccine is effective and safe, it should be used in Italy,” the professor concluded.
Earlier, the head of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen said that Europe wants to be convinced of the quality of the Russian vaccine against the Sputnik V coronavirus before certifying and starting its procurement for use in the European Union. According to her, the Russian laboratory must make a request, and then representatives of European health organizations will have access to the production of the vaccine and make sure that it is safe.
The application will be approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Earlier in February, EMA reported that it had given an opportunity to apply, while the Russian Direct Investment Fund said it had submitted an application, but the West has not yet received it.
The Russian drug “Sputnik V” was developed by the Gamaleya Research Center for Electrochemistry and became the world's first registered vaccine based on the human adenovirus. At present, the development of Russian scientists is among the ten best vaccine candidates in the list of the World Health Organization (WHO). In Russia, the vaccination campaign started on December 5, 2020.
