EU reviews Russia’s jab amid fresh spike

The European Medicines Agency has started a rolling review of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, it announced on Thursday. The regulator said the review is based on results from research in adults, which suggests the vaccine may help protect against the coronavirus.

Despite scepticism about Russia’s

vaccine, according to a study published last month in Lancet, Sputnik V is 91% effective and appears to prevent inoculated individuals from becoming severely ill with Covid-19.

The number of new coronavirus cases has risen in Europe after six weeks of decline, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

“Last week, new cases in Europe rose 9% to just above one million. This brought a promising six-week decline in new cases to an end, with more than half of our region seeing increasing numbers of new infections,” WHO Europe’s regional director Hans Kluge told reporters.

“We are seeing a resurgence in central and Eastern Europe. New cases are also on the rise in several western European countries where rates were already high,” he said.

The European Commission and Italy have blocked a shipment of AstraZeneca’s vaccine destined for Australia after the drug manufacturer failed to meet its EU contract commitments. Sources said AstraZeneca had requested permission from the Italian government to export 250,000 doses from its Anagni plant. The Italian government refused and the European Commission supported its decision.