Russia's Sputnik V vaccine passed all 14 tests conducted by the Slovak Academy of Sciences' (SAV) Biomedical Centre and if the Slovak State Institute for Medicine Supervision (SUKL) had not impugned the reputation of the vaccine, Slovakia could have launched the inoculation with it as early as "tomorrow", Finance Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) declared late on Thursday. At his press conference, Matovic attacked Slovak scientists, the head of SUKL Zuzana Batova, journalists, diplomats and President Zuzana Caputova, with the latter being biased and "providing an alibi" to Batova in his view. Matovic conceded that he has not read the contract concluded with the Russian manufacturer in a deal he had managed.
The Russians asked Slovakia to hand back the vaccine over a missing payment, but that was only a pretext, claimed Matovic. He added that it has never been about money, as the Russian side has been riled up by the SUKL stance. Because of this, they requested that the tests be carried out by an OMCL-registered laboratory instead of a "hostile organisation" such as the SUKL. Matovic perceives the stance by the Slovak regulatory authority on the vaccine as nothing but a "political fabrication".
The ex-premier conceded that he has not read the contract with the Russians. He "thinks" it was signed by ex-health minister Marek Krajci (OLaNO).
Matovic explained that he went in person to Moscow to make sure Slovakia would not lose the vaccine it had acquired and had been authorised by Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) to do so. He never broached in Moscow the missing documentation that the manufacturer has failed to deliver, as this request stems from Batova's stance, whom he does not trust.
In a similar vein, the Finance Minister did not allow the presence of Slovak diplomats during his visit because he wanted to "maximize the odds of success" of striking a deal with the Russians.
Matovic blames the media for the fact that the vaccination with Sputnik V has not yet begun as originally planned, since the vaccine had to be tested first in light of the public sentiment they have created.
