Hungary became the first state of the European Union to officially allow the use of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine on its territory.

This became known after the registration of the drug by the Hungarian National Institute of Pharmacology and Nutrition (OGYÉI).

"The vaccine is registered in Hungary as part of an emergency use authorization based on data from clinical trials Sputnik V in Russia and a comprehensive assessment of the drug by experts in Hungary," the Russian Direct Investment Fund said in a statement.

According to Kirill Dmitriev, general director of RDIF, this is "an important decision" that "demonstrates a high assessment of the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine."

According to TASS, in the near future, the vaccine will be supplied to Hungary.

As a reminder, back in November 2020, a sample of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine was delivered to Budapest for research.

Later, the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry Peter Siyjarto said that the country hopes to localize part of the production of the drug.

  • RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev on the approval of the Sputnik V vaccine in Hungary

Registration of "Sputnik V" in the UAE

Also on Thursday, January 21, the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention registered Sputnik V.

This was done as part of an accelerated procedure based on the results of the third phase of clinical trials in Russia with the participation of more than 33 thousand people.

The Foundation indicated that the UAE is currently in the third phase of clinical trials, in which about 1,000 volunteers are taking part.

The RDIF stressed that the vaccine supply will be carried out by international partners of the fund in India, China, South Korea and other countries.

“Our partnership is very important not only for the UAE and Russia, but also for the entire Middle East and the world as a whole,” said RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev in an interview with RT.

  • RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev on the registration of the Sputnik V vaccine in the UAE

“Firstly, this decision has already been made after Sputnik is registered in more than 10 other countries, and not only on the basis of clinical trials in Russia, but on the basis of the data that the UAE received during its clinical trials of Sputnik in UAE.

Secondly, these tests also showed a very high safety of Sputnik, a very high efficiency, ”Dmitriev said.

According to him, negotiations are also underway with Saudi Arabia on the use of the Russian vaccine in the kingdom.

“So we see that the vaccine has been approved not only in the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, Asia, but also in Europe.

Of course, Russia here acts as a partner with a large number of countries in both production and supply, ”explained the RDIF CEO.

The day before, RDIF reported that an application for registration of the Sputnik V vaccine had been submitted to the EU structure, the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

At the same time, European experts conducted a scientific review for the developers of the drug, and a rolling review process will begin in February.

The EMA's decision on Sputnik V will be made after a series of peer reviews.

RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev emphasized that the fund strongly opposes the politicization of the vaccine issue.

“We have submitted an application for approval to the EU.

By the time Europe makes a decision, I am sure that Sputnik V will be registered in more than 25 countries.

Unfortunately, the political aspects remain in the eyes of many people, but we urge people to forget about politics, and think about health and the salvation of citizens, "Dmitriev explained.

"Sputnik V"

Recall that on August 11, Russia was the first in the world to register the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19.

It was developed by the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after Honorary Academician N.F.

Gamalei.

The drug is a two-component vector vaccine based on human adenovirus, which contains an insert in its genome that encodes a fragment of the SARS-CoV-2 S-protein and induces an immune response in the body.

Vaccination of each person is carried out in two stages (again - 21 days after the first injection).

The effectiveness of "Sputnik V" after 21 days from the moment the volunteers received the first component of the vaccine was 91.4%.

There were no significant side effects in the volunteers participating in the study.

At the same time, against severe cases of the course of the disease with coronavirus, the effectiveness of the drug was 100%.

"Sputnik V" is also effective against the new SARS-CoV-2 strain discovered in Europe in December, the drug developers said.

On January 21, the Russian Ministry of Health approved changes to the storage and transportation conditions for Sputnik V.

Thus, vaccines with storage modes of + 2… + 8 ° C and -18 ° C will be delivered to the market.

The domestic development against coronavirus infection has received permission for use in Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan and Belarus.

In addition to Russian citizens, the Sputnik V vaccine has already been vaccinated by some Western politicians and public figures.

So, in January, the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament Ivica Dacic and the Minister of Internal Affairs of the country Aleksandr Vulin reported about vaccination with a Russian drug.

The injection was made by the Italian Ambassador to Moscow Pasquale Terracciano, who noted the absence of side effects. 

American director Oliver Stone said in December that he had been vaccinated against the coronavirus infection COVID-19 with the Russian vaccine.

The Sputnik V injection was given by The New York Times journalist Andrew Kramer, who spoke about vaccination in his article.

Kramer, in particular, drew attention to the fact that more than a million people were vaccinated in Russia, and the drug was also delivered to Belarus, Argentina and a number of other countries.

This, according to the journalist, indicates that "any harmful side effects that were not revealed in the course of research would have already been known by now."

After an interview with the head of the center.

Gamalei Alexander Gunzburg was also vaccinated by Israeli journalist and TV presenter Dov Gil-Khar.

He called Russian scientists "courageous people."

Serbian director Emir Kusturica also announced his desire to be vaccinated with the Russian vaccine.

In addition, the representative of the World Health Organization Melita Vuinovich intends to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the Russian Federation.