OREANDA-NEWS. Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology named after N.F. Gamalei is awaiting the arrival of a delegation from the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of the approval of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in January. This was announced on Tuesday, December 14, by the deputy head of the center Denis Logunov.

“The WHO delegation is expected to arrive in January,” he told Interfax.

Earlier, on December 10, the Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia Denis Manturov said that the approval of the Russian vaccine against COVID-19 by WHO would accelerate the recognition of the drug in European states. He noted that so far a separate bilateral agreement on the mutual recognition of vaccinated persons is being signed with each country.

On December 4, WHO announced that it plans to conduct an inspection in Russia to evaluate the Sputnik V drug no earlier than January 2022. The organization stressed that the inspection cannot be carried out before the data on the quality and safety of the vaccine are presented and evaluated.

Earlier, on December 3, the head of RDIF Kirill Dmitriev said that WHO does not approve of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine solely because of bureaucratic obstacles. He noted that the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine has been confirmed by clinical trials and real data in many countries of the world. The use of Sputnik V has been approved in 71 states, Dmitriev emphasized.

On November 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the mutual recognition of vaccines and vaccination certificates against COVID-19 an important measure in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Understanding of common responsibility, especially by the leaders of the leading developed countries of the world, will become the basis for more active joint actions, the head of state noted.