EU must be united on Russian and Chinese vaccines COVID-19: French minister

PARIS (Reuters) – A French minister asked EU countries on Friday not to use Russian or Chinese vaccines COVID-19 unless they are approved by the bloc’s drug regulator, warning of a risk to the bloc’s unity and public health.

After an irregular start to the European Union’s vaccination campaign, which left the bloc behind other countries like Britain, some member states in central Europe have already bought or are considering buying Russian or Chinese injections.

Asked whether each EU member state was now simply doing “what they themselves want”, European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune told RTL radio: “If they chose the Chinese and / or Russian vaccine, I think it would be very serious. “

“It would be a problem in terms of our solidarity and it would be a health risk, because the Russian vaccine has not yet been authorized in Europe,” he said.

So far, the EU has dealt with the acquisition of vaccines centrally, through the executive European Commission.

But Sputnik V has been approved or is being evaluated for approval in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Hungary has already started inoculating people with Sinopharm and Sputnik V, and Poland has been discussing the purchase of the Chinese vaccine.

The European Medicines Regulatory Agency (EMA) said on Thursday that it has started a continuous review of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V. But even if it is approved, there is no obligation for the European Commission to include it in our portfolio.

So far, Europe has approved vaccines from Pfizer / BioNTech ,, Moderna and AstraZeneca / Oxford, while ongoing evaluations for CureVac and Novavax candidates are in progress.

The EMA is due to deliver its verdict on J&J’s single injection vaccine on March 11.

Hungary was the first EU country to grant national emergency approval of the Russian vaccine in January, Slovakia ordered remittances and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said his country could switch to Sputnik V.

The Italian region of Lazio said it would seek 1 million doses of Sputnik V if approved by the EMA, while the government of the small independent enclave in San Marino said it began using the Russian vaccine this week.

Polish President Andrzej Duda also spoke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping about buying the Chinese injection COVID-19. Some in Russia see Sputnik V as a potential “bridge” between Russia and Europe. The European Commission says there are no ongoing negotiations on the purchase of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.