Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne said Russia’s newly declared vaccine against COVID-19 needs to be approved by scientific authorities like the World Health Organisation and the European Union.

Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the world’s first-ever vaccine against the COVID-19 virus. He insisted that all necessary testing has been carried out and that the drug provides “sustainable immunity”. 

Named Sputnik V after the famous Soviet satellite, the drug has raised concerned over whether it is truly effective and safe, as recent changes in Russian legislation has allowed vaccine trials to effectively skip certain stages of trials.

Putin however, said his own daughter has been inoculated, as well as hundreds of other volunteers, and claims it has been successful.

In an interview last night on TVM, the health minister discussed Malta’s handling of the public health crisis caused by the pandemic, insisting that the situation is still under control despite active cases reaching triple digits in the last three weeks.

Fearne, however, dismissed suggestions that Malta could be approaching natural herd immunity.

“Way more cases are necessary for herd immunity and we will only get herd immunity once there’s a vaccine,” he explained.

Would you volunteer to take Russia’s new vaccine?