ROME, February 18. /TASS/. Italy’s Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases has provided its own positive evaluation of efficacy and safety of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus which was sent to the Italian Health Ministry and the head of the cabinet of ministers, Director of the Institute Francesco Vaia said in an interview with a popular Porta a porta TV show aired by Italy’s RAI-1 TV channel on Wednesday night.

This institute has been involved in treatment and research of the novel coronavirus infection since the very beginning of the pandemic. "We conducted our own study of research materials on the Russian vaccine available to us, including those published by The Lancet journal. And our conclusion is positive, the efficacy of the vaccine is over 92% and it is absolutely safe. We submitted the Institute’s conclusion to the Health Ministry and it should be brought to attention of the head of the government (Prime Minister Mario Draghi - TASS)," the scientist said.

He emphasized that this conclusion is of exclusively "scientific and technical nature." "I am confident that such evaluations should be devoid of any political underpinning. If a vaccine is effective and safe, it should be used in Italy," the specialist added.