Ukraine Formally Bans Russian Sputnik V Vaccine

The Cabinet of Ministers has banned registration in Ukraine of vaccines and other drugs for the prevention of coronavirus that were developed and manufactured in the Russian Federation. The relevant decree has already been signed by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. This is stated in the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of 8 February 2021, according to the Government portal.

“Registration of vaccines or other medical immunobiological drugs for the specific prevention of acute respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, under obligation of emergency medical use, the development and/or production of which was carried out in a state recognised by the Verkhovna Rada as the aggressor state, is prohibited,” the government decree says.

The document also notes that the supply and testing of vaccines from other manufacturers are regulated by agreements signed by Ukraine under the COVAX Facility. In addition, specialists of the State Expert Centre of the Ministry of Health will evaluate the benefits of vaccines and check the materials for their veracity during state registration in Ukraine.

As a reminder, a Russian-made COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, began to be forcibly tested on state employees in the occupied Crimea. Employees of state-financed institutions are openly threatened with dismissal for refusing to be vaccinated with Sputnik. In addition, the Russians want to bring this dubious drug to the Russian-controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

When Vladimir Putin announced the creation of the world’s first vaccine against COVID-19 and that he had tested it on his daughter, the international community was skeptical of the news.

In particular, Kellyanne Conway, an advisor to former U.S. President Donald Trump, told Fox News that the Russian vaccine had not passed all the necessary tests. “The United States has six potential vaccines in the third stage of development, and they do not seem to have even reached that stage. The United States and Russia have different standards for vaccine development. In particular, they are stricter in the United States,” Conway said.

In turn, medical experts from Germany also expressed doubts about the Russian vaccine against COVID-19. For example, a spokesman for the German Federal Ministry of Health said that nothing was known about the quality, efficacy and safety of the Russian vaccine. “A positive balance of benefits and risks for a vaccine must be demonstrated before it can be used on a large scale,” he said.

Natalia Tolub