Germany agrees to buy 30 million doses of Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine

Germany on Thursday agreed to buy 30 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19.

Michael Kretschmer, Saxony's minister-president made the announcement in a tweet on Thursday that the purchases will be split into three batches of ten million doses between June, July and August, reported euronews.

As per Kretschmer, this would be pending approval of the Russian jab by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which he hoped will happen by next month.

EMA has said it would likely happen faster due to the rolling review undergoing for safety, efficacy and quality.

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is currently registered in 61 countries but has not yet received the green light from the EMA, reported euronews.

German health minister Jens Spahn had previously said the country would engage in discussions with Russia for an eventual purchase of the vaccine.

The vaccine is 91.6 per cent effective, according to the Phase III clinical trial results published in the Lancet. The most common side effects were flu-like illness, injection site reactions, headache, and lack of energy.

So far, the EU has rolled out jabs from Moderna, Oxford/AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer/BioNTech.

The Sputnik V, if eventually approved, would be the first non-western COVID vaccine to be green lighted across the bloc.

( With inputs from ANI )