The European Union does not need the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Herd immunity against coronavirus in the countries of the community can also be achieved with the help of vaccines produced in the EU, said European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton. 

“Since Europe is the continent with the most vaccines ( four ) that are approved by medical regulators, we are the first continent to manufacture vaccines. We absolutely do not need Sputnik V, ”Breton said on the air of the French TV channel TF1 (quoted by  TASS ).

Breton leads the European Commission’s working group, which is responsible for the production of vaccines in the EU. The EU has the potential to produce between 300 million and 350 million doses of coronavirus vaccines by the end of June and achieve herd immunity by  July 14, he said .

The creators of the Sputnik V vaccine accused Breton of bias. The official Sputnik V Twitter account states that the European Commissioner is opposed to the drug “because he is Russian.” It also says that with his comments Breton is putting pressure on the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which on March 4 began an examination of Sputnik V for use in the EU.

In early March, the creators of Sputnik V demanded an apology from EMA Chairman of the Board Krista Virtumer-Hohe because she compared the drug to Russian roulette. The Austrian Health and Food Safety Agency (apart from the EMA, Virtumer-Hohe works there) said its words “did not refer to the safety, quality and efficacy of the vaccine.”

Two EU states – Hungary and Slovakia – approved the use of Sputnik V without waiting for the approval of the European regulator EMA. Also, the vaccine has been approved in more than 50 countries around the world.

(C)MEDUZA 2021