DISINFO: The EU doesn’t approve Sputnik V due to political and artificial prejudices
SUMMARY
The EU’s ambassador to Russia Markus Ederer rejected accusations that the approval of vaccines against coronavirus, including the Russian Sputnik V, is politicised, and pointed that it is only a technical process. However, not all believe that the fact that Sputnik V hasn’t been approved by the EMA and the WHO is due to technical reasons of the review. Political and artificial prejudices around the vaccine exist.
RESPONSE
Recurrent disinformation narrative around Sputnik V.
There is no evidence of any bias against the Russian vaccine by the EU or its regulatory bodies. EMA and EU leaders have publicly stated they would welcome Sputnik V if it meets the applied standards for vaccines. EMA Executive Director Emer Cooke said she hoped the Sputnik V vaccine would be approved. For that, EMA is conducting a rolling review including visits to Russian facilities.
The EMA has certified four vaccines so far. The rolling review of Sputnik V was launched on 4 March 2021. Pro-Kremlin media often quote an article in the Lancet magazine, which showed 91.6 per cent effectiveness of Sputnik V without considerable side effects. However, there have been some doubts as to its efficacy, especially where the trial procedures are concerned (see here and here.) Recently, in the Lancet article published on 12 May 2021, critical questions about the Sputnik V data for the phase III clinical trial were raised.
According to reporting by Reuters, the developer of Sputnik V missed a recent deadline of 10 June 2021, to submit required data, which may postpone the approval process.
The EMA is committed to applying the same regulatory approach and scientific rigour to all vaccine applications that meet European requirements for safety, efficacy and quality and is in dialogue with more than 50 vaccine developers from across the globe.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that this vaccine is still not recognised in the EU due to a political component, that it faced huge disinformation in Slovakia, that the West is waging a targeted campaign against it, or that Western politicians attitude towards Sputnik V feeds vaccine hesitancy in Russia.