Government considers Russia’s Sputnik vaccine
THE Government is prepared to use Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine if approved by EU regulators amid ongoing doubts about the ability of AstraZeneca to deliver promised doses.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has begun a rolling review of the safety and efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine. Its approval would pave the way for the vaccine to be used in Ireland, the Sunday Independent has been told.
Although there are doubts about Russia’s ability to manufacture large numbers of doses, a senior Government source last night noted that a German company, IDT Biologika, is in talks about producing the Sputnik V vaccine.
Last month, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar spoke glowingly of the Russian jab’s effectiveness, telling his parliamentary party that it seems to work and its data was very good. The Lancet medical journal recently published peer-reviewed results of interim trials showing a 91.6pc efficacy.
Hungary and Slovakia have unilaterally approved Sputnik V for use, but Irish Government sources maintain it would only be used here if approved by the EMA.
Meanwhile, the State’s vaccine task force spoke with AstraZeneca on Friday after the pharmaceutical company delivered 104,275 fewer doses than planned last month. The delays with AstraZeneca have been cited by the Government and HSE as the reason for missing the target of vaccinating 100,000 people a week.
It is understood the company is confident it can deliver the 40 million doses it promised the EU in the first quarter of this year by the end of this month,
including the 449,028 doses allocated to Ireland of which only 132,400 have arrived into the State so far.
However the Government is deeply sceptical about AstraZeneca’s commitment, given that the company’s delivery schedules have changed, they claim, more than 23 times this year.
“We’ll believe it when we see it,” said one senior Coalition figure.
A second senior figure said that discussions with AstraZeneca had “emphasised the need for better delivery and the possibility of increased supply. But a big improvement would be to get what we were promised on time.”
Under pressure to deliver on his promise of over 80pc of adults being offered a vaccine by the end of June, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has spoken directly to a number of pharmaceutical companies producing vaccines in recent months. But it is unclear if he has reached out directly to AstraZeneca over the delays.
The Government has been largely unable to secure extra vaccine doses from elsewhere, despite approaches over recent days to a number of countries and pharma companies who have a presence in Ireland.
“Nobody’s selling,” lamented a senior government source last night.
It also emerged that the HSE warned GPs last night to expect a 15pc shortfall on their vaccine deliveries this week because of a shortage of supply. A circular to doctors attributed the shortage to difficulties in the supply of the Moderna vaccine, it is understood.
The vaccine is due to be administered to 65 GP practices with small numbers of over 70s next week, along with housebound and bedbound patients who will be vaccinated in their homes by the National Ambulance Service.