WHO vaccine expert Mariangela Simao said: Global health At a press conference, the UN. Health officials are due to visit Russia on March 7 – a few weeks before the war – to assess the facilities it will produce.Sputnik“.

“Studies have been postponed to a later date,” Simao said, while assessments and studies were affected by the situation.

He explained that it was difficult to book flights and that there were credit card issues and “some other operational issues”.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western nations have largely closed their airspace to Russian aircraft. Extensive sanctions were imposed on Russian financial institutions.

“The matter has been discussed with the Russians and new dates will be set soon,” Simao said.

The World Health Organization has been evaluating the Russian Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use approval since last year.

Accreditation will allow the purchase of Sputnik V as part of the efforts of the UN-backed Kovacs mechanism to distribute the vaccine worldwide.

In a recent study published in Lancet with more than 20,000 participants in 2020, Sputnik V was 91% safe and effective against infection and was highly effective in preventing the development of severe symptoms with COVID-19.

But last October, the South African Drugs Regulatory Commission rejected the vaccine, citing some safety concerns that the Russian manufacturer could not respond to.

South African officials have expressed concern that the technology used in the Sputnik V vaccine may not be safe for people with high levels of HIV infection.

The European Pharmaceuticals Association said it was continuing to evaluate Sputnik V. The vaccine has been given the green light in more than 70 countries, while no major safety issues have been identified so far.