Merkel, Macron And Putin In Talks To Discuss Sputnik V Vaccine

By Tony Winterburn • Published: 31 Mar 2021 • 10:39

Andalucía's Health Minister To Meet Sputnik Vaccine Manufacturers. image: RSM

Merkel, Macron and Putin in talks on using Sputnik V jab in Europe, says Kremlin.

Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron discussed Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and its use in Europe on a conference call on Tuesday, March 30, the Kremlin said.

Moscow’s statement said that among other subjects the Russian, German and French leaders discussed prospects for the registration of the vaccine in the EU and the possibility of shipments and joint production in EU nations- it did not say who raised the topic or who arranged for them to meet via video call.

The EU’s very sluggish vaccine rollout has been dogged by an early shortage of doses, but those shortfalls were expected to ease significantly from the beginning of next month with more than 300m doses of Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines set to arrive in April, May and June.

European production of the vaccine is already planned to begin in Italy in July. The Russian pharmaceutical firm R-Pharm is also planning to produce the jab in the Bavarian town Illertissen from the summer.

It is not yet clear if or when the EMA will grant authorisation to Sputnik V. “This evaluation is taking place according to the same norms that apply to all other vaccines,” Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert told the German news agency DPA.

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