Combating the coronavirus pandemic and possible supplies of the Russian Sputnik V anti-coronavirus vaccine to Austria were among the topics discussed over the phone by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, the Kremlin press service said on Friday as reported by TASS.
“The sides discussed in detail issues of combating the novel coronavirus infection, including possible supplies of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine to Austria, as well as its possible joint production,” it said. “The sides agreed to maintain close contacts between the two countries’ relevant agencies.”
The conversation was initiated by the Austrian side.
Russia was the world’s first country to register an anti-coronavirus vaccine on August 11, 2020. The vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Health Ministry, was given the name Sputnik V. It is a vector vaccine based on the human adenovirus.
On February 2, 2020, The Lancet, a world-acclaimed medical journal, published the results of the third phase of Sputnik V clinical tests. The vaccine has proved to be among the world’s safest and most efficient ones with its efficacy estimated at 91.6% (91.8% among volunteers older than 60). Ninety-eight percent of volunteers developed antibodies to the coronavirus. All developed cell-mediated immunity.
The vaccine has been registered in many world nations.
