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President Putin was met with skepticism from around the world when he said in August that Russian health authorities had given permission for a COVID-19 vaccine. He also said that one of his own daughters had received it.
Many were concerned that Russia had advanced too quickly in vaccine development and that it would be at the expense of safety.
The Gamaleya Institute in Moscow had only tested it for two months.
– The Russians came out violently and said they would start mass vaccination based on small studies, says the medical director of the Norwegian Agency for Medicines, Steinar Madsen, who was skeptical when the news of the Russian vaccine came.
Madsen is still waiting for the study, but he still notes that the vaccine appears to do well when it comes to immunity.
Russia was the first in the world to approve a vaccine against covid-19.
Photo: PISCINA Nuevo
40,000 for more tests
The results of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 tests were recently published in The Lancet medical journal.
They show that all the participants had developed antibodies against the coronavirus and that none had had serious side effects.
The magazine emphasizes that more testing is needed, even against a placebo.
Other weaknesses of the study is that it does not include more than 76 participants. There were also no older participants in the study.
Now, however, the Sputnik-V tests will carry over to phase 3. Then, about 40,000 volunteers are expected to participate in the tests of the new vaccine.
The first results are scheduled to be ready in October or November, according to Kirill Dmitriev, who heads the Russian investment fund that finances the vaccine.
Will not be considered
But regardless of the outcome of the phase 3 trials, Norway will not consider the Russian vaccine for use in this country.
Norway is affiliated with the EU vaccine program and under the Norwegian agreement, nine vaccines are currently being developed. Russian is not one of them.
– But will Norway evaluate the Russian vaccine if it can give good results?
– No. It must happen on a common European basis, but Russians can, of course, request approval of their vaccine in the EU, says Madsen.
– And then the vaccine is possibly relevant for Norway?
– Yes, but it is far ahead, he emphasizes.
Health Minister Mikhail Murashko says that Russia will begin mass vaccination from November or December, with an emphasis on high-risk groups.
– Now it indicates that they run a kind of middle ground between the phase 3 study and the vaccination program, says Madsen.
Steinar Madsen, Medical Director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency.
Photo: Norwegian Medicines Agency
– Good to move on
Internationally, reactions to the new test results have been positive, but most say it is too early to conclude that the vaccine still works.
“The report is in the ‘good so far’ category,” Brendan Wen, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told Reuters.
However, he adds that it is a step in the right direction.
Professor and virus researcher Allan Randrup Thomsen from the University of Copenhagen would have liked to see that the level was somewhat higher among vaccinated people.
– It’s okay to move on, but I’m excited to see if the protective effect is enough, he tells Danish TV2.
According to the World Health Organization, 176 potential vaccines are currently being developed around the world. Of these, 34 are currently being tested in humans. Of these, eight are in phase 3.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has also said he is willing to personally test the vaccine against the virus that Russia has developed.
