Additional testing of Sputnik V in a certified Hungarian laboratory is related to a dispute between Slovakia and a Russian vaccine supplier over the investigation of this vaccine in a non-certified Slovak laboratory.
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The first 200,000 doses of Sputnik were imported to Slovakia at the beginning of March, but it has not yet started using the vaccine.
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The Slovak State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL) stated that due to the lack of information from the Russian side, it could not issue its opinion on the safety and efficacy of the product. Only after receiving the test results from Hungary, the Slovak Minister of Health Vladimír Lengvarský intends to decide whether to vaccinate Sputnik V in Slovakia.
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However, Deputy Prime Minister Matovič is satisfied with the outcome of the vaccine testing. It is “a very sad day for the people who have set themselves the goal of fighting Sputnik.” “It is also a happy day for those who wanted to get vaccinated with this vaccine,” Matovic said.
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The information of the Slovak State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL) that Sputnik V vaccines, which are used in the world, are connected only by the name, he marked as intentional damage to the reputation of the Russian vaccine. “It was a gross lie,” he said.
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He described the media reaction to the purchase of Sputnik as a media lynch. “Lynč, whose only goal was to incite hatred,” added the Slovak Deputy Prime Minister.
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SÚKL claimed that it first tried to contact laboratories with EU certification, but they were full, and in addition they only examine registered products, which Sputnik V is not. SÚKL also pointed out that it did not receive the required information about its manufacturer for the assessment of Sputnik V and that the Russian vaccines supplied to the market were probably not the same.
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Matovic, who sided with Russia in the dispute, flew to Moscow a week ago, he said, to save the supply of vaccines. “I received a message from Moscow that if we are not able to use Sputnik, they want the vaccines back and will give them to Hungary, with the proviso that Slovaks can be vaccinated in Hungary,” the deputy prime minister described. According to him, Moscow was afraid of provocation.
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“Despite everything, I left Moscow with the understanding that we could test the vaccine in one of the certified laboratories in the surrounding states. That’s why I visited Budapest the next day, “says Matovič. Budapest has promised to test the vaccines.
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At the same time, the deputy prime minister expressed concern that Slovakia would lose the Sputnik V vaccines because payment for these vaccines had returned from Moscow.
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