ROME, December 13. /TASS/. A detailed presentation of Russia’s anti-COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V was held at the international conference on struggle against the pandemic in Palermo on Monday. The conference was convened at the initiative of the University of Palermo with support from the mayor’s office. Many leading specialists involved in studying the novel coronavirus took part.
Senior research fellow Darya Yegorova, of the Laboratory for Genetic Engineering of Pathogenic Microorganisms at the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology briefed the audience on the phases of testing the vaccine and also reviewed the results of research into the vaccine’s effectiveness, gathered in a number of countries, including Argentina and San Marino. The organizers of the conference said one of the purposes of inviting a specialist from Russia was to thoroughly examine Russian experience.
Russia’s consul-general in Palermo, Sergey Patronov told TASS that the Russian specialist’s report drew considerable attention.
"The representatives of the professional community in attendance were greatly interested in obtaining first-hand information about Russian researchers’ efforts and the obtained results. This is the first time a Russian specialist was invited to an event of such a high level. Many have noted the objective shortage of information about the Russian vaccine. In the meantime, better knowledge of its properties might help achieve its recognition in Europe," Patronov said.
The vaccine Sputnik V, registered in Russia on August 11, 2020, was the world’s first officially recognized vaccine against the coronavirus. By now the vaccine has been approved in 71 countries. Although the Russian vaccine has not been recognized by the European Union yet, a number of European governments have made a decision to let travelers vaccinated with Sputnik V visit their countries without extra restrictions.