The European Union’s vaccine regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), has begun an evaluation of the Russian covid-19 vaccine known as Sputnik V, it announced in a statement Thursday.
“The decision to initiate continuous review is based on the results of laboratory studies and clinical studies in adults,” the statement said. “These studies indicate that Sputnik V triggers the production of antibodies and immune cells that target the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and may help protect against covid-19.”
“The EMA will evaluate the data as it becomes available to decide whether the benefits outweigh the risks,” he adds.
The ongoing review comes after complaints about the European Commission’s slow rollout of vaccines led many member states to unilaterally approve the vaccine produced by Russia’s National Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology Gamaleya.
Sputnik V vaccine has been found to be 91.6% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective against severe and moderate disease, according to an interim analysis of the results of the phase 3 vaccine trial published in the medical journal. The Lancet.