Serbia in negotiations over Sputnik Light coronavirus vaccine that doesn't require revaccination

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced today that Serbia is in negotiations with the Russian Gamaleya Institute to acquire additional quantities of the Sputnik V vaccine, but also about getting the new Russian vaccine, "Sputnik Light."

Sputnik Light is a vaccine that, as announced, does not require revaccination.

After a meeting with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Brbabic - when asked by Czech journalists during a joint news conference about Serbia's experience with Russian vaccines - said that Serbia is also in negotiations with partners from the Russian Federation regarding the production of the Sputnik vaccine at the Torlak Institute in Belgrade.

She also announced that a delegation from Russia will arrive in Belgrade tomorrow, in order to continue the talks.

"We hope to be one of the countries that will be making one of the vaccines against coronavirus," said Brnabic.

She said that Serbia has experience with three vaccines, Pfizer-Biontech's, Sputnik, and the one produced by Sinopharm.

"As someone who is not an expert in these things, I cannot judge which is better, but it seems to me that they are all equally good. The most important thing is that the vaccines are safe and that people are getting vaccinated, and their safety has been confirmed several times," she explained.

She pointed out that 50,000 more Sputnik V vaccines were delivered to Serbia yesterday, adding that this vaccine is different from others is one thing - the first vaccine and the dose used for revaccination are not the same.

"All the people I know, and I know a lot of them who got the Sputnik vaccine, did not experience any side effects. So I expect that we will get a major part of the two million vaccines we ordered as soon as possible," she added.

Czech Prime Minister Babis pointed out that it is known that the EU has invited the manufacturer of the Sputnik V vaccine to register with the European Medicines Agency (EMA), while German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz did the same due to the lack of vaccines in the EU.

He also said that there are countries that are trying to get this vaccine directly, because it is not certain whether the Russian company has asked for approval from the EMA.

"It's important for us to get as many safe vaccines as possible," Babis underlined, pointing out that there are problems with the deliveries of the vaccines that his country has ordered.

He said that Moderna announced yesterday that it would deliver 50 percent fewer vaccines than ordered. He said that the Czech Republic ordered 8.4 million vaccines, but that there is no guarantee that deliveries would be respected according to the agreed quantities, and the timetable.

Babis pointed out that Austria and Slovakia also want to produce the Russian vaccine, and that it is important to abandon politics when it comes to people's health.

"The situation in the Czech Republic is not good and the only solution is vaccination. That is why we are trying to get as much information as possible about other vaccines that are not approved right now," he explained.

He said that the goal is for the Czech Republic to be ready and able to, once the vaccine is approved by the EMA,  get the quantities it needs as soon as possible.

(Telegraf.rs)