Slovakia accepted the first batch of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, despite the fact that the vaccine has not yet been registered in the European Union and approval for its use is not being issued. This was stated at a press conference by Prime Minister Igor Matovich, reports Reuters.
It is reported that the plane with the first cargo of doses of the drug landed in the city of Kosice in the east of the country. The Slovak authorities have purchased 2 million doses of the Russian vaccine, the first million is expected to be delivered during March and April. The Sputnik V vaccination will begin within two weeks.
A day earlier, the Prime Minister of neighboring Czech Republic Andrei Babis and President Milos Zeman said they were considering the same step. They are considering the option of using a vaccine from Russia without the permission of the European regulator due to the excessively high rate of spread of the new type of coronavirus.
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 another adenovirus in which the coronavirus gene is embedded. When it enters the cells, it forms proteins in them – they cause immunity and promote the development of antibodies.
