WHO resumes approval process for Sputnik V jab — Russian Direct Investment Fund

MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. The World Health Organization (WHO) has resumed the approval process for Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on the vaccine’s Twitter account on Wednesday. "WHO confirmed Sputnik V pre-qualification process is on track and entering its final stage. A group of WHO inspectors is due to visit Russia shortly to round up all necessary inspections and paperwork on Sputnik V, one of the world’s safest and most efficient vaccines," it said. Meanwhile, RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said in an interview with CNN that WHO experts were expected in Russia soon and that he was hopeful Sputnik V would be approved by the WHO within the next two months. In early October, the WHO said that the listing process for the Russian jab was "put on hold," but will be "sorted out quite soon." After talks with Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva on October 1, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that all barriers hampering emergency use authorization for Sputnik V by the WHO had been removed. The WHO press service told TASS on September 27 that it was waiting for additional information about Sputnik V from Moscow. It said that only after this data was considered it would be possible to organize an inspection trip to Russia by international experts. Earlier this year, the WHO inspected four production facilities in Russia as part of the preliminary assessment of Sputnik V and issued recommendations to one of them. To date, seven coronavirus vaccines have been recommended for emergency use by the WHO, and applications for 13 more vaccines, including Russia’s Sputnik V and EpiVacCorona, are at various stages of assessment. Read more