The contract for the purchase of Sputnik V should be made public. The Slovak president Zuzana Čaputová, announced this on Thursday morning after acquainting herself with the contract as well as with the letter in which the Russian side asked for the return of the vaccines. She added that the reason for the return request was not that the State Institute for Drug Control (ŠÚKL) had the vaccine tested by an uncertified laboratory.
The Health Ministry is currently carrying out a legal analysis on whether the contract for the purchase of the Sputnik V vaccine can be released. According to Health Minister Vladimír Lengvarský (an OĽaNO nominee), some of the Sputnik V batches have already been prepared to be sent to Hungary for testing. The further course of action will depend on the results of this testing, said the Health Minister on Wednesday, adding that he is also keeping an eye on processes at the European Medicines Agency, which could possibly okay the use of Sputnik V.
Vladimír Lengvarský also touched on the report by German television ZDF, according to which Slovakia is the only EU country, together with Barbados and Libya, that is attempting to use mediators to acquire quicker access to Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines. According to the German broadcaster, the price tag for such vaccines usually notably exceeds the prices at which pharmaceutical companies supply the vaccines to the EU. Lengvarský conceded that he is not yet familiar with all the details, but as far as he knows, the offers to procure the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines were extended from various firms. "I was assured that we will negotiate with anyone who turns up willing to sell us any vaccine," he said. Health Ministry spokesperson Zuzana Eliášová told ZDF that the contract had not yet been concluded, but the "talks are pending". However, Slovakia has "primarily attempted to manage its acquisition of vaccines under the central procurement process of the European Commission". In response, AstraZeneca stated that currently no supply or sale for the private sector is being carried out and if someone privately offers vaccines, they are most likely fake.
