The mice and guinea pigs used in safety tests for the Russian Sputnik V vaccine by pharmaceutical company Imuna Pharm in Šarišské Michaľany (Presov region) have survived the trial, company representative Miroslav Ryzner announced on Tuesday. "The test of the vaccines components was carried out on five mice and two guinea pigs. The trial lasted seven days. Throughout this period, no signs of toxicity were observed, while also the animals did not lose weight, and none of them died. This means that the result of the test is satisfactory," claimed Ryzner. The process was aimed at finding possible harmful substances that could have been added inadvertently during production.
The Slovak Government has purchased two million doses of Sputnik V, a vaccine which is not yet registered in the European Union. The first batch that arrived in the country in early March contained 200,000 doses, which were stored at Imuna Pharm's facilities. The vaccines will remain there until the Health Ministry issues a distribution order, so that those who want to get vaccinated with Sputnik V at their own request can do it based on a special temporary permission granted by the Slovak Health Ministry.
