04/08/2021 19:53
Clarín.com
World
Updated 04/08/2021 19:53
Slovakia's drug regulatory body said on Thursday that
it could not determine the safety
of a batch of Russian
coronavirus
vaccine
Sputnik V.
delivered in Bratislava in March and expressed doubts about its composition.
"The batches of the vaccine (Sputnik V. used in preclinical tests and in clinical studies published in
The Lancet
journal
do not have the same characteristics and properties as those imported into Slovakia,
" said the National Institute for Drug Control (SUKL ) in a statement sent to AFP.
"Only its name relates it to the Sputnik V. vaccines
used in some 40 countries around the world,
" including Argentina, said the Slovak regulator, which with 5.4 million inhabitants, faces one of the death rates by covid-19 highest in the world.
The official account of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V on Twitter.
Photo: Twitter Sputnik V
"Based on laboratory tests alone,
it is not possible to conclude on the efficacy
and safety in humans" of the batch shipped to Slovakia, the institute said, adding that the vaccine manufacturer had not responded to repeated requests. to provide data on the composition of the first 200,000 imported doses.
Former Prime Minister Igor Matovic
was forced to resign
last week amid a scandal over the hasty purchase of two million doses of Sputnik V.
that has yet to receive the green light from the European Medicines Agency
(EMA).
In February, the Lancet magazine reported that the Sputnik V vaccine was 91.6% effective, clearing up doubts about its reliability.
The vaccine is used in Russia and Hungary, among other countries.
A total of 10,322 people have died from Covid-19 since the pandemic began, 79 in the last 24 hours.
Russian counterattack
In response, Russia asked Slovakia to return the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines it has received "due to multiple contractual violations."
The official Sputnik V vaccine Twitter account published that the Slovak drug regulator "
in violation of the current contract and in an act of sabotage"
conducted tests on Sputnik V. "in a laboratory that is not part of the Network of Official Medicines Control Laboratories of the EU ''.
He added that the Slovak State Institute for Drug Control "has launched a disinformation campaign against Sputnik V and
plans further provocations."
The Slovak institute pointed out that the network of laboratories certified by the EU only tests vaccines registered in the bloc, which is not the case with Sputnik V. It added that it does not
know the details of the contract
between the two nations because it is confidential.
The announcement came hours after the Slovak regulator indicated that it had not received enough information about the Russian vaccine from the manufacturer to be able to assess its benefits and risks.
The Slovak institute commented that they have not provided
nearly 80% of the requested data.
For its part, Russia said it was "fake news
."
"All batches of Sputnik V
are of the same quality
and undergo rigorous quality control at the Gamaleya Institute," the Russian authorities stated. "The quality of Sputnik V has been confirmed by regulatory bodies from 59 countries. ''
However, the Slovaks said these vaccines appeared to `` only have name in common. ''
Source: AFP and AP
PB
Look also
Russian Sputnik V vaccine will not be licensed in the European Union before the end of June
Sputnik V, the only covid vaccine that has an account on Twitter: Why?