OREANDA-NEWS. The World Health Organization (WHO) has suspended the approval process for the Russian vaccine against the «Sputnik V» coronavirus, Deputy head of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Jarbas Barbosa said, answering questions from journalists on Thursday, September 16. As Barbosa explained, as part of the procedure by which WHO approves coronavirus vaccines for emergency use, the manufacturer must prove that the enterprises producing the vaccine meet the required standards.

«As for the approval process of «Sputnik V» for emergency use, this process has been suspended because during an inspection of one of the plants where the vaccine is made, it was found that this plant does not adhere to proper production practices», he said.

According to Zharbas Barboza, WHO is currently waiting for notification that this plant has eliminated violations. After that, a new inspection will be carried out there. In June, the WHO commission revealed violations at one of the Russian enterprises producing «Sputnik V», Farmstandart-UfaVITA in Ufa. The expert's complaints were caused, in particular, by the control of aseptic conditions on the lines for filling the vaccine.

At the moment, WHO has approved for emergency use coronavirus vaccines produced by American companies Moderna and Pfizer (the latter - togetherwith German BioNTech), European Jannsen and AstraZeneca, Chinese Sinopharm, Sinovac, as well as the Indian Serum Institute of India.