No negative side-effects were detected during trials of a combined COVID-19 vaccine using AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s shots and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, the Interfax news agency reported.
Russia may start trials on a COVID-19 vaccine combining its Sputnik V vaccine and various Chinese shots in Arab countries, the Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund as saying on Friday.
RDIF is marketing Russia’s vaccine globally. Its chief executive Kirill Dmitriev said the fund had received many requests from other vaccine manufacturers, including ones in China, for joint trials.
“These are the big manufacturers and it may be that we will start the first trials in Arab countries combining Sputnik with a number of Chinese vaccines,” he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Russian said on Friday that several countries including Hungary have approached Moscow to agree on mutually recognising each other’s COVID-19 vaccination certificates, the TASS news agency reported.
The comments were made by Health Minister Mikhail Murashko.
In another development, Russia expects the World Health Organization (WHO) to approve the Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus within two months, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) which markets the vaccine, told Reuters.
He said the European Medicines Agency (EMA) which is also reviewing Sputnik V “was provided with all basic existing information, there is no critical remarks for now at all”.
