Testing studies for the candidate for the Covid-19 Sputnik V vaccine are being conducted in Russia.
Sefa Karacan | Anadolu Agency Getty Images
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is “open” to the idea of producing Russia’s coronavirus vaccine in the European Union, according to a spokeswoman for his office.
Germany has so far administered the largest number of vaccinations among the 27 European nations since its launch in late December. However, there are large discrepancies within the bloc, where, for example, the Netherlands began vaccination only on Wednesday.
The EU has been criticized for the slow release of Covid-19 vaccines compared to other parts of the world, with the US, China and Israel among the leaders in the number of doses given.
Merkel on Tuesday discussed the response to the Covid-19 pandemic with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the phone call, she said she was “open to the idea of bilateral cooperation to exploit European production capacity (for the Russian vaccine),” German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said Wednesday, according to Politico.
A Brussels-based German government spokesman confirmed the same statement to CNBC.
Germany said this would only happen if the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the Sputnik V vaccine.
European regulators last month approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna jab on Wednesday. However, the EMA has not yet received a formal request for evaluation of the Russian Covid vaccine for EU-wide administration.
The Russian Gamaleya Institute, the developers of the Sputnik V vaccine, said on Tuesday that more than 1 million people had received jab, the Financial Times reported.
Vaccines for everyone
Earlier this week, Germany announced a further tightening of social restrictions, with schools closing until 31 January.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday that there would be a vaccine for “everyone” this year. “In 2021, we will have 50 million doses of vaccine from Moderna and 90 million from BioNTech insured. That alone is enough to provide virtually all vaccinations,” Spahn told German television channel ZDF.
Germany has about 83 million citizens.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Spahn also said that “if all goes well” there will be a new Pfizer-BioNTech factory in February to expand the number of vaccines available in Europe. BioNTech is a biotechnology company based in Mainz, a town on the Rhine River in central Germany.