Russia admits WHO yet to approve Sputnik jab over lack of data

Russia admitted on Tuesday that the self-cultivated Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine has not yet been approved by the World Health Organization because Russian authorities have not provided sufficient data.

Last August, Sputnik V became the world’s first approved coronavirus vaccine when Russian authorities administered the vaccine. Green light For home use prior to large clinical trials.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “We haven’t yet provided the specific information we need to provide for certification, because what it is and how it is provided. I had a different understanding of what should be done. ”

“We have different standards.”

But Peskov said Russia is “gradually adapting, for example, to these requirements.”

Authorities have raised concerns about fast trucks To processSince then, jabs have been declared safe and have been more than 90% effective in reports published by major medical journals. Lancet..

However, the US and EU drug watchdogs have not so far been licensed for Sputnik V, which has been used in Russia and many other countries since late last year.

WHO said last month that after delaying the process for a few months, it resumed the certification process, which could grant Sputnik V’s emergency permits, but still needed “complete documentation on Sputnik.”

At home, Russian authorities face vaccine-sensitive people, with only 42 percent of Russians fully vaccinated.

Twitter account related to opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned on Tuesday, accused the late WHO Authentication process He told Russian authorities that it contributed to the skepticism of vaccines at home.

“People are dying, and they are sorting paper,” the account tweeted.

WHO has so far granted emergency permits to COVID-19 Shot Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Bharat Biotech of India.

© 2021 AFP