Slovak PM says lives at stake as he pushes EU to speed up vaccine approvals

PRAGUE, March 9 (Reuters) – Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic warned the European Union drug agency that lives were at stake as he pressed it to work round the clock to speed up vaccine approvals if it did not want member states to use unapproved shots as Slovakia plans to.

European Medicines Agency managing board head Christa Wirthumer-Hoche said on Sunday EU members should refrain from granting national approvals for the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V while the agency reviews its safety and effectiveness.

This was after Matovic, bypassing his government partners and thus sparking a political crisis at home, secured a deal with Russia to deliver 2 million doses as cases surged and Slovakia became one of the world’s hardest hit countries.

Matovic himself welcomed the first 200,000 doses as they were flown to Slovakia on March 1.

Actual vaccinations with them have not started as health authorities are inspecting the batch, but the war of words with the EU over the speed of the rollout is continuing.

“Dear Christa, we would all be very happy if you would change your working hours in the EMA in the coming months to 24 hours a day and seven days a week – and not approve new vaccines in three months but in three weeks,” Matovic wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

“Life is at stake. And not just one.”

Slovakia has the world’s second highest per-capita death rate from COVID-19 at 17.03 per 1 million people in the past seven days, according to the Our World in Data website, just trailing its neighbour the Czech Republic at 18.85.

Several central European states have started using or are considering using Russian or Chinese shots against COVID-19 amid the comparatively slow EU rollout.

On Friday, France’s European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune urged EU countries not to use Russian or Chinese vaccines unless they were approved by the EMA, warning of a risk to the bloc’s unity and public health.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Jan Lopatka and Alison Williams)