WHO to decide on approval of Russian Sputnik V jab after last inspection

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GENEVA. KAZINFORM - The World Health Organization (WHO) will decide on including the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) after «the last inspection» in Russia, according to the WHO official website, TASS reports.

The document entitled ‘Status of COVID-19 Vaccines within WHO EUL/PQ evaluation process,’ indicates that «the process has restarted» and the organization is «awaiting the completion of rolling submission» and «the last inspection.» The WHO emphasized that the decision on Sputnik V would be made «once all data was submitted and follow-up of inspection observations completed.»

As the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said earlier, «the WHO has confirmed that the procedure for Sputnik V approval continues and is undergoing its last stage.» «A group of the WHO inspectors is going to visit Russia soon to collect all the necessary data on the jab,» the statement reads.

CEO of the RDIF Kirill Dmitriev expressed hope that the vaccine would be authorized by the WHO in the next couple of months. «We expect a group of [the WHO] inspectors in Russia soon, and we are hoping for the approval of Sputnik V in the next couple of months,» Dmitriev noted.

Talks between the Russian Health Minister and the WHO Director General

After talks with Director General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva on October 1, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that all barriers hampering emergency use authorization for Sputnik V by the WHO had been removed.

The WHO press service told TASS on September 27 that it was waiting for additional information about Sputnik V from Moscow. It said that only after this data was considered it would be possible to organize an inspection trip to Russia by international experts. Earlier this year, the WHO inspected four production facilities in Russia as part of the preliminary assessment of Sputnik V and issued recommendations to one of them.

To date, seven coronavirus vaccines have been recommended for emergency use by the WHO, and applications for 13 more vaccines, including Russia’s Sputnik V and EpiVacCorona, are at various stages of assessment.


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