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BERLIN, March 20. / TASS /. Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would not rule out the purchase of the Russian anti-coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V at the national level if the European Union does not take a joint decision on this issue.
“As for the Russian vaccine, I agree that we should use any vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency. But I would prefer European purchases. If there are no European purchases and no signs of this, we will have to go the German way alone, “she told reporters on Friday after a meeting with the heads of the German regions to discuss the anti-coronavirus vaccination in the country. “It is possible and we will do it.”
The Chancellor also said that, despite controversial information about possible negative effects, she wanted to be vaccinated with the product of the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca.
Merkel confirmed that the German authorities have committed to launch a large-scale vaccination campaign against the coronavirus this summer.
“I think we have a very good chance of fulfilling our promise to give every citizen the opportunity to get vaccinated [against COVID-19] by the end of this summer, “she said, adding that much depends on how many doses of vaccine are delivered to the country.
The federal government had previously expressed its general willingness to use vaccines developed outside the European Union. The heads of several German regions, including Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, called for political and ideological considerations on the use of foreign vaccines, including Russia’s Sputnik V, to be set aside.
The European Medicines Agency announced on March 4 that it had started the Sputnik V assessment process to verify compliance with EU efficacy, safety and quality standards.
Russia’s Sputnik V is among the top three most popular coronavirus vaccines in the world. To date, it is registered in 50 countries worldwide with a total population of more than 1.3 billion.
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