Russia to start producing 2 COVID-19 vaccines next month, embassy officials say in PH

MANILA – Russia will start producing 2 vaccines for protection against COVID-19 by October 2020, officials from the Russian embassy in the Philippines said Thursday.

Vladimir Mongush, trade advisor to the Russian embassy, ​​in a virtual conference before the Popular Participation Committee of the House of Representatives, said that the production of Sputnik V by the Gamaleya Research Institute and another COVID-19 vaccine by the Vector Institute in Siberia will start next month.

Mongush said Russia will begin its mass vaccination effort in the middle of this month, vaccinating teachers, doctors and nurses whom it considers avant-garde.

Russia reiterated its willingness to help countries like the Philippines produce their vaccines locally.

“The corona virus pandemic is the common threat that no country can combat … Only (through) joint efforts can we be successful,” said Tatiana Shlychkova, a Russian adviser minister who also attended the virtual conference.

Shlychkova said they are ready to impart their technology and expertise in producing the vaccine, which could also be used to produce other vaccines if a new virus emerges.

Mongush said Philippine officials already have documents related to the vaccine and that they are now being reviewed after signing a confidentiality agreement.

However, he said that local Philippine production of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine will depend on how quickly the government passes the protocols.

He said that the availability of the vaccine at the local level would depend on factors such as local registration and conducting Phase 3 clinical trials in the country.

Mongush said that in addition to vaccine development, vaccine safety is equally important.

Shlychkova said that making the vaccine locally will also benefit the economy, saying that “establishing (establishing) local manufacturers here will increase capabilities” in the Philippines.

But Iloilo’s representative, Janette Garin, a former Philippine health secretary, is concerned about producing the vaccine locally.

“I just have some apprehension about the Sputnik vaccine. In fact, I am a vaccinologist by profession. I trained in Geneva in advanced vaccinology. If the plan is to collaborate, that would not be a problem. But if the plan is to have a vaccine manufacturing plant in the Philippines, it has been tried several times. Unfortunately, the water source, especially in Luzon, would not qualify, ”he said.

Garin insists that it will be faster to import “vaccines directly from its manufacturing plant (Russia) duly authorized and recognized by the WHO.”

Meanwhile, embassy officials denied that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughter died after taking part in the phase 2 vaccine trial, dismissing it as “fake news.”