Briefly, Sputnik V wants to have it manufactured in Austria

0
656
Briefly, Sputnik V wants to have it manufactured in Austria
© APA - Austria Presse Agentur

Austria:

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) wants to have the Russian and Chinese corona vaccine produced in Austria.

After approval of the two vaccines, “Austria would definitely try to make production capacities available to suitable domestic companies for Russian or Chinese vaccines,” Kurz told “Welt am Sonntag”. “Just like for manufacturers in other countries,” he added.

Read Also: Coronavirus variants -What does an entry ban bring?

“The point is to get as much safe vaccine as possible as quickly as possible – regardless of who it was developed by,” emphasized Kurz, who only spoke out on Thursday in a statement to the APA that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) should also approve it of vaccines from Russia and China. In this regard, there should be “no geopolitical taboos”.

“Yes, if the vaccines are approved in Europe,” answered Kurz in the “WamS” interview when asked whether he himself could be vaccinated with Sputnik V or a Chinese preparation. “The vaccines are all about efficacy, safety and availability, not geopolitical battles,” he said.

The Chancellor blamed delivery problems and the “speed of approval” for the “currently suboptimal supply” of EU citizens with vaccines. He considers it “problematic how bureaucratic and slow the European Medicines Agency is working with the approval of vaccines”.

In an interview with the German newspaper, the Chancellor defended the opening steps from Monday, but was also “certain that the coming months will be extremely tough”. However, he appeared to be moving slightly away from his forecast of normalization in summer, which was confirmed in mid-January. “I assume that the situation will be much better in summer because of the vaccinations and that we can return to normal in many areas,” he said.