PRAGUE/MOSCOW, April 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia called on Slovakia to return hundreds of thousands of doses of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, citing contract violations, in an escalating row between the two countries after a Slovak watchdog raised doubts about the shot.
Earlier on Thursday, Slovakia’s SUKL drug agency said the batches of Sputnik V vaccines it had received differed from those reviewed by international scientists and by the European Union regulator.
Slovakia imported 200,000 doses of Sputnik V last month, the second European Union nation to do so after Hungary, despite a lack of EU regulatory approval.
Though approving the shot for therapeutic usage of the vaccine as an unregistered drug and receiving an initial shipment, it had not begun administering the shot, and the Slovak health ministry also requested its drug agency conduct a review.
The agency said it found that the dosage form of the vaccine – the way the medicine is presented, such as in a solution – differed from the product currently being scrutinised by the European Medicines Agency as part of a rolling review of the shot, required for EU approval.
SUKL said the batches sent to Slovakia also showed different characteristics from those used in studies published in The Lancet peer-reviewed medical journal.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad, vigorously denied these claims, describing them as “fake news”.
It said the Slovak side had not tested the shot in a specially-certified laboratory, adding that this was in violation of contract obligations and “an act of sabotage”.
RDIF said it had requested the Slovak government send some batches to a European Union certified laboratory for additional tests, as well as send the main shipment back to Russia.
“RDIF … has sent a letter on April 6, 2021 asking to return the vaccine due to multiple contract violations so that it can be used in other countries,” a statement, shared on the vaccine’s official Twitter page, said.
“All Sputnik V batches are of the same quality and undergo rigorous quality control at the Gamaleya Institute,” it said.
Slovakia’s Health Ministry has said it expects to announce next week further steps on use of Sputnik V. — NNN-AGENCIES