Gam-Kovid-Vak («Sputnik V») vaccine ampoules against Covid-19. Archival photo MOSCOW, January 14 Sputnik V would have been recognized in the European Union long ago if the vaccine had been evaluated from a medical point of view, Petr Bystron, member of the Alternative for Germany faction in the Bundestag, told Izvestia .The German parliamentarian believes that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) does not approve the Russian drug for economic reasons.
"It (EMA. — Ed.) Protects the market so that large Western pharmaceutical companies can sell their drugs without competition. In addition, it does not want to ensure the inflow of foreign currency into Russia", Bystron believes.
According to the politician, political factors also influence the EMA's decision not to allow the use of Sputnik V.
There is no need to modify Sputnik V for the omicron strain, Gunzburg said Since March 4 last year, Sputnik V has been undergoing a gradual examination procedure in the EMA, which approves drugs for centralized use in the European Union. Sputnik V has been approved in 71 countries with a common population four billion people, that's over 50 percent of the world's population. Sputnik V ranks second in the world in terms of the number of approvals received by state regulators. The vaccine was 97.6 percent effective in an analysis of data from 3.8 million vaccinated Russians, which is higher than the data published earlier by the Lancet medical journal (91.6 percent ), reported in the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Gamaleya Research Center. Information on the use of Sputnik V for vaccination of the population in countries around the world (Argentina, San Marino, Serbia, Hungary, Bahrain, Mexico, the UAE and others) demonstrate that The Russian drug is one of the safest and most effective against coronavirus, RDIF reported.