Serbia begins licensed production of Russian covid-19 Sputnik V vaccine. Production at the Torlak Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Serums in Belgrade was inaugurated today by video conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The evening’s online meeting of heads of state was also attended by Argentine President Alberto Fernández, whose country will also produce the Russian vaccine.
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According to local media, Serbia is the only country in Europe other than Russia where this vaccine is produced. On the contrary, the DPA reports that Serbia is the second country in Europe in this respect, as Sputnik V is already produced in Belarus.
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According to public radio and television RTS, Serbian Minister without Portfolio Nenad Popovic said that Serbia would produce four million doses of Russian vaccine in the next six months. They are intended primarily for the Serbian population, and in later stages the vaccines will also be exported to the countries of the region. These vaccines could be vaccinated within ten days.
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Sputnik V is vaccinated by about seventy countries around the world. Apart from Russia and Serbia, Europe also includes Hungary, Slovakia and some other Balkan states. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not yet approved the product.
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Serbia is also planning to produce the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm from October. President Vučić previously said that in cooperation with China and the United Arab Emirates, a new factory should be established in the country, which will be able to produce two to three million batches per month.
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Come and get vaccinated, Putin attracts
Russian President Vladimir Putin said today at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum that he had ordered the government to prepare the ground for paid vaccination of foreigners with covid-19 vaccine by the end of June. “The domestic pharmaceutical industry is ready to further increase vaccine production. Not only do we fully satisfy our own needs, but we can give foreigners (the opportunity) to come to Russia and get vaccinated there, “said the head of the Kremlin, according to the Interfax agency. He also asked the government, regions and businesses to address the issue of vaccinating migrant workers, TASS added.
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Prior to the forum, Reuters reported that vaccination in Russia was slower than in many developed countries, recalling that Moscow was nevertheless exporting its own Sputnik V vaccine abroad. According to Russian agencies, Putin called the “ban” on Russian vaccines in some other countries politically motivated and absurd.
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President Vladimir Putin during today’s forum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Russia’s health ministry said last week that 17 million out of 146 million Russians had been vaccinated with at least one dose of the vaccine. According to the AP, experts doubt the fulfillment of the government’s goals to vaccinate more than 30 million Russians by mid-June and almost 69 million by August.
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At the same time, the president again called on the people of Russia to get vaccinated, reminding that the covid-19 vaccine is free of charge for the citizens of the federation. He also stressed that Russian vaccines “proved to be the safest and most effective” and that no deaths were associated with their use.
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