Acting Foreign Minister's trip to Moscow

Minister of the Interior and Acting Foreign Minister Jan Hamáček (ČSSD) will fly to Moscow to discuss possible deliveries of Sputnik V.

According to Hamáček, Czechia should be ready for an immediate purchase of the yet-unapproved Russian Sputnik V vaccine, when the European Medicines Agency gives it the green light. However, the Czech Republic should not and will not use any unapproved vaccines.

According to the new Minister of Health Petr Arenberger (for ANO), Russia's offer was to buy 300 thousand doses of Sputnik V immediately and another 150 thousand doses every month. He also mentioned a possibility of using Sputnik V in clinical trials in the Czech Republic.

Last week, Arenberger replaced Jan Blatný (for ANO) at the head of the office. President Miloš Zeman criticized Blatný for refusing to vaccinate with this Russian vaccine until it has been approved by the EMA.

Hamáček also stated that Czechia was willing to buy the AstraZeneca jabs from Denmark. The Nordic country has decided to stop using it after several serious cases of blood clots.