Brazil Rejects Russia’s Sputnik Vaccine

Brazil’s National Health Regulation Agency (Anvisa) on Tuesday rejected the importation of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V.

The agency arrived at the unanimous decision after about five hours of deliberations.

It said the vaccine lacks “consistent and reliable data.”

Anvisa director, Alex Machado Campos, stressed that the decision was only a ‘snapshot.’

Shortcomings were identified in both the development and the production of the vector vaccine, based on the data that could be analysed so far, said the statement.

This includes all three phases of the clinical trials of the preparation, it said.

“In addition, there is insufficient or no data on quality control, safety and efficacy,” the agency wrote.

So far, 14 states in Latin America’s largest country have asked for permission to import Sputnik V in view of the explosion in COVID coronavirus situation.

Brazil, with its approximately 210 million inhabitants, is one of the hotspots of the coronavirus pandemic. 

According to the Ministry of Health, more than 14 million people have been infected with coronavirus and about 390,000 patients have died in connection with it.

AFP