Desperate EU to beg RUSSIA for Sputnik V vaccine in huge boost to Putin after Holland and Ireland ban AstraZeneca jab
DESPERATE EU vaccine chiefs have pleaded with Russia for the country’s Sputnik V jab to be made in Europe.
The boost for Vladimir Putin’s once-derided vaccine comes as the AstraZeneca jab was suspended by several countries including Germany, Holland and Ireland.
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A spate of cases of blood clotting in people who have recently had the vaccine, including a handful of deaths, is being investigated by the EU.
Several countries in Europe have already begun using the Sputnik V vaccine as the EU’s stuttering programme fails match the progress of the UK and other countries.
The head of Russia's Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev, said in a statement that his organisation had secured "agreements with companies from Italy, Spain, France and Germany to launch production of Sputnik V".
Dmitriev said the deals would allow for the supply of Sputnik to the European market "once the approval is granted by the European Medicines Agency".
If approved Sputnik would become the first non-Western coronavirus jab to be certified for use across the 27-nation bloc.
The EU is currently in the midst of a third wave of Covid cases with hospitals in France and Italy a deluge of cases.
The EU's vaccine rollout has been hampered by production delays, political infighting and public skepticism over the Astrazeneca jab fuelled by scaremongering.
Angela Merkel faced a backlash from voters furious about the slow pace of vaccination with her CDU party getting a drubbing in regional elections.
Hungary approved Sputnik V in February and began using it as part of its vaccine rollout, while the Czech Republic and Slovakia have also ordered doses and say they will not wait for EMA approval.
According to the vaccine's developers, Sputnik V has been registered in more than 50 countries.
Despite its widespread use abroad, many Russians have yet to take the vaccine amid mistrust of Putin's government.
Russia registered Sputnik V last August ahead of large-scale clinical trials, sparking concern among some experts at home and abroad over the fast-track process.
But medical journal The Lancet last month published results showing the jab to be safe and over 90 per cent effective.
As well as the Netherlands and Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria, Iceland, Congo, Thailand and Ireland have announced they are pausing the rollout of the AstraZeneca jab.
Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Romania have stopped using the doses from the batch there are uncertainties about, but continue to use injections from other batches.
Downing Street reaffirmed its faith in the AstraZeneca jab and insisted Britain's rollout would not be paused despite the concerns.
"The Oxford/AZ vaccine is both safe and effective,” said a spokesperson.
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“There is no evidence of any causal link between blood clots and the vaccine. Blood clots occur nationally. There's no evidence that they are any more likely to following vaccination.
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“We urge anyone asked to get a vaccine to come forward to do so.
"We are continuing the vaccination programme and will continue to make sure we meet our target to vaccinate all those phase one groups by mid-April."
