Ukrainian Opposition Party Collects Signatures To Register Russian COVID-19 Vaccine

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2021) The Ukrainian Opposition Platform � For Life political party on Wednesday started gathering petition signatures urging the country's authorities to register Sputnik V, a Russian-developed vaccine against COVID-19, and launch its production in Ukraine, Artem Marchevsky, the head of the party's youth wing, said.

Earlier in January, the chairman of the party's political council, Viktor Medvedchuk, said that Kharkiv-based pharmaceutical company Biolik submitted a registration application for Sputnik V. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said that the country would be using only vaccines that have passed all three stages of clinical trials. The phase 3 trials of the Russian vaccine are in the process of completion in many countries including Russia, Belarus, Egypt, and India.

"Today, the collection of signatures for an appeal to President [Volodymyr Zelenskyy] and the Cabinet of Ministers has been started, with a demand to register [the vaccine] and launch vaccine production as soon as possible," Marchevsky told the 112 Ukraine tv channel, adding that signature-gathering started in three cities in Kiev-controlled parts of the Donetsk Region.

In addition, Marchevsky criticized Kiev for plans to register a Chinese vaccine that showed efficacy rate of 50 percent in one of the clinical trials, while at the same time not considering the approval of Sputnik V that is over 90 percent effective against COVID-19.

China's Sinovac vaccine showed an overall efficacy rate of 50.38 percent at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 cases during its phase 3 clinical trials in Brazil, 78 percent for mild cases and 100 percent for moderate or severe cases, meaning that all rates are above the 50 percent level required by the World Health Organization and for a regulator approval in the South American country. Meanwhile, interim data from Sinovac's late-stage trial in Turkey showed an efficiency rate of 91.25 percent.

Ukrainian health authorities said earlier that the country's deal with Sinovac includes a requirement that the vaccine needs to show an efficacy rate of at least 70 percent.

Sputnik V became the first-ever officially registered coronavirus vaccine after Russia approved it on August 11. In addition to Russia, Sputnik V is registered in Algeria, Argentina, Belarus, Bolivia and Serbia.