Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz urged on Wednesday the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to enhance the pace of its examinations and decision on the use of the Russian Gamaleya Research Institute's vaccine against COVID-19, Sputnik V, in the European Union.
Kurz stressed Austria agreed to purchase 30 million doses of the jab but will use it only after the EMA approves it and "since there is no EMA registration, there are no supplies." He went on to blame the issue on both Russia, which is "[not] interested in a situation when we have vaccine doses lying around without the ability to use them," and the agency, which needs "too much time for many decisions" given that "this issue won't end."
Kurz's statements come after he reportedly threatened Austria will object to the European Commission acquiring 100 million doses from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE if his country does not get more shots in the distribution.
