PRAGUE – Slovakia was thrown into a political crisis Tuesday over a secret deal to acquire Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine orchestrated by the country’s prime minister despite disagreement among his coalition partners.
Prime Minister Igor Matovic defended the move, saying it was made in the public interest amid a surge of infections in one of the hardest hit European Union countries.
Matovic said it wasn't the point where the vaccine is from but that “it saves lives.” Slovakia is only the second European Union country to use the vaccine, which hasn’t been approved by the European Medicines Agency, after Hungary.