“An act of sabotage” and “a disinformation campaign”, so the official Twitter profile of Sputnik V defined the statements of the Slovak National Institute for Drug Control (Sukl) which expressed doubts about the batches of the Russian vaccine delivered last March.
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“Vaccine lots used in preclinical testing and clinical trials published in the journal Lancet they do not have the same characteristics and properties as those imported into Slovakia, “Sukl said in a note sent to the agency Afp, referring to the study of last February by the authoritative scientific journal that had dispelled the doubts about the reliability of Sputnik V by establishing that it was 91.6% effective against the symptomatic forms of Covid-19.
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“Only his name attributes it to the Sputnik V vaccines used in about 40 countries around the world. Based on laboratory tests alone, it is not possible to draw conclusions on the efficacy and safety for humans” of the batch sent to Slovakia , he concluded, adding that the producer “had not responded to the repeated request” to provide data on the composition of the first 200,000 imported doses.
Immediate reply from Moscow. “All batches of Sputnik V are of the same quality and are subject to rigorous quality controls at the Gamaleja Institute,” reads the Twitter profile. “Sukl has launched a disinformation campaign against Sputnik V and is planning new provocations.”
The Slovak statement “that the batch of Sputnik V delivered to Slovakia does not have the same characteristics as the vaccine described above The Lancet it’s fake news, “he added, accusing Sukl of” an act of sabotage “.
Moscow retorts that the Slovak Institute tested the Russian vaccine “in a laboratory that is not part of the EU’s network of official drug control laboratories”. Sukl argues that EU-certified laboratories can only test vaccines already authorized by Brussels, while Sputnik V is still waiting for the green light of the EMA.
In response, Russia also asked Slovakia to return the vaccines already delivered so that they could be used in other countries, citing the “breach of existing contract”.
The former prime minister forced to resign
The former prime minister Igor Matovic he was forced to resign last week after being challenged for purchasing two million doses of Sputnik V, despite not yet receiving the green light from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
“CONGRATULATIONS, IDIOTS! You have taken the health of millions of people in Slovakia hostage”, wrote on Facebook Matovic who, today, as Deputy Prime Minister, went to Moscow for talks on Sputnik V. “They are still making systematic efforts to prevent the use “of the Russian vaccine in Slovakia.
An EU country of 5.4 million inhabitants, Slovakia has one of the highest Covid-19 death rates in the world. Since the start of the pandemic, 10,322 people have died of Covid, of which 79 in the last 24 hours. And today 1,576 new infections have been registered, bringing the total to 368,470 cases.
And Germany makes contacts
Representatives of the German government have started talks with the Russian Sovereign Investment Fund (RFID) which financed the development of the Sputnik V vaccine to discuss “an advance purchase contract” of Moscow lots, without waiting for the green light from the EU.
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