Italy Becomes The First European Union Country To Produce Russia's COVID-19 Sputnik V Vaccine

Illustration of the arrival of the Sputnik V. vaccine (Wikimedia Commons / Casa Rosada)

JAKARTA - If nothing gets in the way, Italy will become the first European country to produce the COVID-19 vaccine from Russia, Sputnik V. This was stated by the Press Secretary of the Russian Government, Dmitry Peskov.

On Tuesday, February 9 local time, Peskov said the production of the Sputnik V vaccine in Italy could help meet the demand for vaccines from abroad.

Peskov's comments came after Moscow-based RDIF's sovereign wealth fund and Swiss-based pharmaceutical company Adienne signed a deal to manufacture Sputnik V in Italy.

Peskov also said that comments from senior European Medicines Agency (EMA) officials urging EU members to refrain from agreeing to Russia's COVID-19 vaccine were, for now, at least inappropriate.

The official in question is Christa Wirthumer-Hoche, who is meant to be the head of the EMA management board. In the Austrian talk show ORF on March 7, he advised EU countries against giving Sputnik V national emergency authorization, while the EMA is still reviewing the safety and effectiveness of the Russian vaccine.

It is known that the Italian and Russian Chambers of Commerce have agreed to start producing the Sputnik V vaccine in Pizza Country, starting next July. The Sputnik V vaccine status is still under review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The plan is that this cooperation is expected to produce 10 million doses of the vaccine which will be launched in July 2021.

"This innovative production process will help create new jobs and allow Italy to control the entire production of these compounds", said a statement from the Italian and Russian Chambers of Commerce, according to abcnews.