Europe reviewing Russia's COVID-19 vaccine
(VOVWORLD) -Europe’s medicines regulator said on Thursday it has started an ongoing review of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Institute for possible approval in the region, in a major sign of confidence in the shot.
 Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine arrives at Kosice Airport, Slovakia, March 1, 2021. Hard-hit Slovakia signed a deal to acquire 2 million dozes of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. (Photo: Frantisek Ivan/TASR via AP) |
The human medicines committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will review data from ongoing trials of the vaccine until there is enough clinical data for approval, the regulator said.
Sputnik V was almost 92% effective in fighting COVID-19, based on peer-reviewed late-stage trial results published in The Lancet medical journal last month.
EMA’s “rolling reviews” are aimed to speed up the process of approving a successful vaccine by allowing researchers to submit findings in real-time, even before final trial data is ready. Europe currently has approved vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca/Oxford.
The EMA is also expected to give its verdict on J&J’s single-shot vaccine next Thursday.