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MOSCOW – Russia released new results on Tuesday stating that its experimental Covid-19 vaccine was highly effective and promised it would cost less in international markets than vaccines from some of its Western competitors.
According to the Russian Fund for Direct Investment, which financed the development of the injection, Sputnik V will cost less than $ 10 per dose, or less than $ 20 for the two doses needed to vaccinate one person, in international markets. The vaccine will be free for Russians, the Fund said.
The two-shot jab, the fund promised in a statement, will be “two or more times cheaper” than those from Pfizer or Moderna, which cost about $ 20 and $ 15-25 per dose, respectively, depending on the deals that the companies have. companies have succeeded in supplying their vaccines to the United States government.
Kirill Dmitriev, director of the fund, told reporters on Tuesday that more than 1 billion doses of the vaccine are expected to be produced next year outside of Russia.
Russia received international criticism for giving regulatory approval to Sputnik V in early August, even though it had not yet completed the advanced tests among tens of thousands of people, necessary to ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccine before it is administered. widely.
An advanced study among 40,000 volunteers was announced two weeks after receiving government approval. The trial is still ongoing, but the vaccine is already being offered to people in risk groups, such as medical workers and teachers, despite multiple warnings from experts against its wider use before all necessary tests are completed. Several high-profile officials have said they have already taken it.
President Vladimir Putin, who announced the approval of Sputnik V with much fanfare in August, saying that one of his daughters had been vaccinated, has touted the jab as effective and safe, but did not appear in a rush to take it himself.
When asked if the president has been vaccinated, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Putin “cannot use an uncertified vaccine.” Peskov noted that “widespread vaccination has not yet started and the head of state cannot participate in the vaccination as a volunteer.”
Two weeks ago, the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute that developed the vaccine and Russia’s Direct Investment Fund said analysis of early data from the study showed the vaccine “had a 92 percent efficacy rate.” The conclusion was based on 20 infections that occurred among 16,000 volunteers.
In a new statement Tuesday, the vaccine’s developers put its effectiveness at 91.4 percent, after the second interim analysis of trial data was conducted based on 39 infections among 18,794 study participants who received both doses of the vaccine. or the placebo.
The statement said eight cases of the virus were recorded among 14,095 vaccine recipients and 31 among 4,699 volunteers who received the sham injections in the Sputnik V trial. It was not clear from the statement how the coronavirus was diagnosed among the trial participants. . test and whether all of them, including those that did not show symptoms, were tested for the virus.
Both times, the Russian data was based on far fewer infections than Western drug manufacturers observed when evaluating the effectiveness of their vaccines.
Moderna said last week that its vaccine appears to be 94.5 percent effective after registering 95 cases of the virus among study participants. Pfizer’s 95 percent efficacy rate was announced after 170 infections accumulated. On Monday, another pharmacist, Britain’s AstraZeneca, said late-stage trials showed its Covid-19 vaccine to be highly effective, in a statement that came after registering 131 infections.
The developers of the Russian intakes said “no unexpected adverse events were identified as part of the investigation.” Some of those vaccinated experienced pain at the injection site and flu-like symptoms, such as fever, weakness, fatigue and headache.
Mass vaccination in Russia is expected to begin in 2021, and more than 2 million doses of Sputnik V will be produced in Russia this year, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Tuesday.
