WHO Gets Required Papers for Sputnik V Vaccine

According to information provided by a WHO representative to the media outlet, "most of the data was received by the end of December 2021," and the final data is expected to be delivered by the end of January.

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Earlier, Melita Vujnovic, WHO representative in Russia, stated that "all necessary documentation on Sputnik V" was submitted.

 In early October, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko stated that all obstacles to WHO's recognition of the Sputnik V vaccine had been removed and that only a few administrative procedures remained.

In December, the WHO press service told Sputnik that the inspection of Russia to evaluate the Sputnik V vaccine would not take place before January 2022. 

The UN health agency asked the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDFI), which financed the vaccine's development, to confirm the deficiencies pointed out by international experts to the doses that were corrected. 

Sputnik V, developed by Gamaleya and funded by the RDIF, was registered in Russia in August 2020 and is one of the few drugs globally with more than 90% efficacy against Covid-19. However, the WHO does not yet include it on the list of drugs approved for "emergency" use.

The emergency use list is a prerequisite for supply to Covax, a mechanism created to "bridge the gap" in access to inoculants and facilitates the inclusion of the vaccine among those requested by countries to enable international travel.