Russia in talks with German company to produce its Covid vaccine

Muscovites can now get a shot of Russia's Sputnik-V vaccine at the Russian capital's best-known shopping arcade by Red Square

Credit: Pavel Golovkin/AP

Russia has contacted Germany to see if it can manufacture its Covid-19 vaccine there the day after clinical trial data showed that its Sputnik-V jab is 91.6 per cent effective.

The results put Sputnik-V among the top performing vaccines, along with the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna jabs that also reported efficacy of over 90 per cent

Jens Spahn, the German health minister, on Wednesday confirmed that talks are underway over the possibility of producing the Russian vaccine in Germany.

He said he was "excited" by any vaccine that proved effective.

"To what extent this is the case with Sputnik V is now up to the regulators to examine."

But he made clear any deal to produce the vaccine in Germany would not necessarily mean it will be cleared for use in the EU.

"We can also provide support for the production of a vaccine that has not yet been approved in Europe, or is not approved at all," he said.

The vaccine’s developers on Tuesday published new data, allaying transparency concerns about the jab which Russia rolled out more than a month before.

The new analysis of data from nearly 20,000 participants in Phase 3 trials suggested that the two-dose vaccination offers 91.6 per cent efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19.

Faced with hurdles with a vaccine roll-out in her country, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that the Russian jab could be used in the EU if it receives official approval.

"Every vaccine is welcome in the European Union," Mrs Merkel said in an interview on Tuesday night. “Today we read good data, including from the Russian vaccine."

The Kremlin has been eager to tout its own vaccine in the countries that have been left behind as the United States and the European Union have hoovered up the vaccines produced on their soil to immunise their own population.

Mexico on Tuesday became the 17th country in the world to approve Sputnik-V. In December, Argentina was the first country in the region to roll out the Russian jab to inoculate thousands of healthcare workers.

The country’s president himself got the jab last month. Several countries around the world have already officially approved Sputnik V, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund which helped develop the vaccine, including Argentina, Hungary, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Dmitry Peskov, the presidential spokesman, said on Wednesday that Moscow works hard to respond to a “growing number” of requests from abroad to get the vaccine.

“We’re planning to set up the vaccine production abroad in the near future, which will allow us to satisfy the growing demand from foreign countries,” he said.