The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has claimed the country has the “world’s first” vaccine for the coronavirus amid concerns of legitimacy and safety.
What We Know:
- President Vladimir Putin announced the first Russian-produced vaccine for COVID-19 on Tuesday (Aug. 11.) The trials for the vaccine started back in mid-June meaning the drug has only been evaluated for two months.
- The vaccine, which has been named Sputnik-V, was developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute. The Russian vaccine uses strains of the adenovirus; therefore, according to Dr. Scott Gottlieb, “…they are using a viral infective to deliver that epitope…that’s technically complex and so there are more things that can go wrong from a safety standpoint.”
- During the announcement earlier this morning, Putin went on to note that the vaccine has passed all required checks and he is certain of its quality as one of his daughters has actually used the vaccine, and “now she feels well”.
“I know that it works quite effectively, forms strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the needed checks…”
President Vladimir Putin
- Claims that mass vaccination will begin in October leave many experts worried, given the short trial time. The World Health Organization cautioned the country that they would not offer any stamp of approval until “a rigorous safety data review” is conducted.
“This is a case of Russia cutting corners for big gains, big wins domestically and — they hope — internationally.”
J. Stephen Morrison (Center for Strategic and International Studies)
- The Russian vaccine is currently not on the World Health Organization’s list for vaccines that have reached phase three clinical trials. According to Healthline, this final phase of trials “usually involves 3,000 participants who have the condition that the new medication is meant to treat”.
As the process of releasing the vaccine to the public continues, experts and citizens alike are worried about the legitimacy and safety of Russia’s Sputnik-V.
