Trial studies of the Covid-19 Sputnik V vaccine candidate are being conducted in Russia.
Sefa Karacan | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is “open” to the idea of producing the Russian coronavirus vaccine in the European Union, according to a spokeswoman for her office.
Germany has so far administered the highest number of vaccines among the 27 European nations since the launch in late December. However, there are big discrepancies within the bloc, where, for example, the Netherlands only started vaccinating on Wednesday.
The EU has been criticized for a slow launch of Covid-19 vaccines compared to other parts of the world, with the US, China and Israel among the leaders in terms of the number of doses administered.
Merkel discussed the response to the Covid-19 pandemic with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. During the call, she said “she is open to the idea of bilateral cooperation with the aim of exploring European production capabilities (for the Russian vaccine),” said Ulrike Demmer, deputy spokesman for the German government on Wednesday, according to the politician .
A spokesman for the Brussels-based German government confirmed the same statement to CNBC.
Germany made it clear that this would only happen if the European Medicines Agency (EMA) gave its approval to the Sputnik V vaccine.
European regulators approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine last month and the Moderna vaccine on Wednesday. However, the EMA has not yet received a formal request to evaluate the Russian Covid vaccine for administration across the EU.
Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, creator of the Sputnik V vaccine, said on Tuesday that more than 1 million people had received the vaccine, the Financial Times reported.
Vaccines for all
Earlier this week, Germany announced a further tightening of social restrictions, with schools closing until January 31.
Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday that there will be a vaccine for “everyone” this year. “In 2021, we will have 50 million doses of vaccine from Moderna and 90 million from BioNTech guaranteed. That alone is enough to offer vaccination to practically everyone,” Spahn told German television channel ZDF.
Germany has about 83 million citizens.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Spahn also said that “if all goes well” there will be a new Pfizer-BioNTech plant in February to expand the number of vaccines available in Europe. BioNTech is a biotechnology company based in Mainz, a city on the Rhine River in central-west Germany.