Slovakia became the second EU country on Monday to vaccinate citizens with the Russian corona vaccine Sputnik-V.
According to local media, a man from the industrial town of Žilina was the first to turn. “I was really waiting for Sputnik-V,” he beamed.
Slovakia follows Hungary’s example with the vaccination campaign, which already started using the Russian drug in February.
Prime Minister Igor Matovic had ordered 200,000 doses of the corona vaccine in Moscow. He did so without consulting his coalition partners, and that came under a lot of criticism. Matovic eventually resigned as Prime Minister.
Sputnik-V is already used in many places worldwide, but many countries are still waiting in the European Union.
The European Medicines Agency, the EU’s vaccine watchdog, has not yet approved the drug. Slovakia will voluntarily vaccinate people in the 18-60 age group with the Russian corona vaccine. According to local media, the interest so far has been disappointing.