G-20: Putin Urges Countries to Speed Up Mutual Recognition of Covid Vaccines

Russia has developed three vaccines against the coronavirus, including Sputnik V - the world's first vaccine. Sputnik V has been approved for use by 70 countries, and is recognised as proof of vaccination by over 100 nations, but not the European Union or the United States.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged countries to speed up the mutual recognition of one another's coronavirus vaccines.

"I would like to draw your attention to the fact that in spite of the decisions of the G-20, access to vaccines and other vital resources is still not available to all countries in need. This is taking place including thanks to unfair competition, protectionism, and the refusal of a number of countries - among them members of the G-20, to mutually recognise one another's vaccines and vaccine certificates," Putin said, speaking at the G-20 summit by video-conference on Saturday.

Putin urged the World Health Organisation to speed up the process of the prequalification of new vaccines and other preparations against Covid - including the testing of their quality, safety and effectiveness. The faster this takes place, the easier it will be to restore the functioning of the global economy, including the especially hard hit tourism sector, he said.

Putin stressed that Russia's Sputnik V vaccine has proven its high safety and effectiveness, and has been approved for use in 70 countries with a combined population of over 4 billion people.

"In addition to the two-component Sputnik V vaccine, Russia has created and is actively using a one-component drug known as Sputnik Light, which can be used, among other things, to increase the effectiveness of other vaccines. We are working with colleagues from European countries in this regard, and are offering it to our partners," he said.

Putin also suggested that mechanisms for the modernisation of vaccines should be developed in a "systematic and prompt" manner, given mutations in the coronavirus, to keep them effective. The coronavirus, according to the president, will continue to "pose a danger for a long time".

The Russian president stressed that Moscow has always welcome and will continue to welcome the efforts of G20 countries to support the world's poorest nations, and said that the sustainable development of the global economy would be impossible without these issues being addressed. "Recently, developed nations themselves, including G20 states, have faced inequality and poverty. It's important to deal with this problem through economic and budgetary policy measures," he said.

Russia's Covid Vaccines

According to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RFID) figures, over one hundred countries have now approved entry to travelers who received the Sputnik V vaccine. However, the United States and many members of the European Union are not among them. Last month, an informed source told Reuters that EU regulators would be unlikely to make a determination on whether to approve Sputnik V until at least the first quarter of 2022, citing "missing data." The World Health Organization also continues to study the Russian medication.

Along with Sputnik V, which is an adenovirus virual vector vaccine developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russia has developed and approved the use of two other anti-Covid preparations. These include EpiVacCorona, a peptide-based preparation created by the VECTOR virology and biotechnology research center outside Novosibirsk, and CoviVac, a traditional inactivated virus-based preparation developed by the Moscow-based Chumakov Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immune-and-Biological Products.

The Gamaleya Center is currently working on and testing Sputnik M, a nasal vaccine designed for use on children and teens. As in other nations, the proposal to vaccinate children against Covid remains under debate by health officials, given their strong natural immunity against the virus. A recent poll by Sputnik's Russian-language sister agency found that 64 percent of parents were against vaccinating their children, with 21.6 percent supporting the idea.