Bavarian Premier Soeder Urges EMA to Speed Up Approval of Russia's Sputnik V, Reports Say

BERLIN (Sputnik) - Markus Soeder, the prime minister of the German state of Bavaria and the leader of the Christian Social Union, has urged the European Medicines Agency to speed up the approval of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine and warned that the decision should not be drawn out for political reasons, Bild reported on Sunday.

"The vaccination engine must not stutter. It is a priority that Sputnik V approval process is accelerated. We should not allow dawdling for purely ideological reasons," he was cited as saying by the newspaper.

According to Bild, sources in the German government believe the approval will come no earlier than September due to the alleged lack of necessary data.

EMA has been reviewing Sputnik V since 4 March. However, several EU countries, including Slovakia and Hungary, have already approved its use without waiting for EMA authorization.

In April, Bavaria placed a preliminary order for potential Sputnik V deliveries to the region once it is authorized by the European drugs regulator. The first batch of the Russian vaccine to the region may contain 2.5 million doses.