The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has submitted applications to the World Health Organisation for an Emergency Use Listing and prequalification of its coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund is quoted in Reuters as saying.
Russia was the first country to grant regulatory approval for a novel coronavirus vaccine, and did so before large-scale trials were complete, stirring concerns among scientists and doctors about the safety and efficacy of the shot.
An Emergency Use Listing is meant to make a vaccine available globally faster, while a WHO prequalification is a global quality tag that ensures vaccines are safe and effective.
The procedures would allow Sputnik V to be included in the list of medical products that meet leading quality, safety and efficacy standards, RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said in a statement.
The vaccine, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Research Institute and marketed by RDIF, is based on a platform of human adenoviral vectors.
[link url="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-russia-vaccine/russia-applies-for-who-emergency-use-tag-for-its-covid-19-vaccine-idUSKBN27C2W0"]Full Reuters report[/link]