Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced that he is open to manufacturing the Russian or Chinese COVID-19 vaccines in Austria, provided that they receive market authorization in the European Union, "just as is the case for manufacturers from other countries." The idea is "to obtain a safe vaccine as quickly as possible, regardless of who produced it."
The conservative leader, in an interview with the German newspaper "Welt am Sonntag" today, stated that "if the companies manufacturing the Russian and Chinese vaccines receive the green light in Europe and are produced there, Austria will certainly try to leverage its production capacities in the suitable national companies." Kurz also mentioned that he might receive the Russian vaccine if it is authorized in Europe. He said the decision "depends only on its effectiveness, safety, and rapid availability, with no geopolitical conflicts involved," at a time when relations between the European Union and Russia have deteriorated recently, especially following the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also expressed her openness regarding the use of the Russian vaccine "Sputnik V" in the European Union, a topic that has sparked debate after a prestigious medical journal published positive scientific results confirming its effectiveness. She indicated her openness to the Chinese vaccine as well, noting that a country like "Serbia is vaccinating faster" than other European nations "using the Chinese vaccine." The European Union has authorized the use of three vaccines against COVID-19: those developed by the Pfizer/BioNTech alliance, Moderna, and AstraZeneca.
