Despite Hungary’s help, Slovakia won’t use Sputnik V for at least one more month

Doses of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine sent to Slovakia in March will have to be kept in storage for at least another month, after Moscow asked for some doses to be sent back for testing, Slovakia’s health ministry said on Wednesday.

Slovakia received the 200,000 doses at the beginning of last month, part of what was intended to be a deal for 2 million doses that caused a political storm which led the prime minister to resign. The vaccines have so far sat unused, with Slovakia’s drug agency SUKL refusing to endorse the product, citing a lack of data.

Russia has yet to win approval from the EU regulator, the European Medicines Agency, for Sputnik V. So far, Hungary is the only EU country to have begun inoculations with Sputnik V without

waiting for EMA approval.

Slovakia’s Health Ministry said a sample of 600 doses had been sent back to Russia for further tests at Moscow’s request, and that vaccinations with Sputnik V would not begin for at least a month, until those tests were complete. It did not say what sort of tests the Russians planned to carry out.