[ad_1]
A Covid-19 vaccine developed and tested in Russia generated neutralizing antibodies in dozens of study subjects, and while the vaccine often caused side effects such as fever, those side effects were mostly mild, according to data published Friday in the medical journal. The Lancet.
In phase one and two studies, all 76 study participants developed antibodies against the virus that causes Covid-19, according to the report.
Neutralizing antibody response levels were similar to the immune response that people had after naturally recovering from Covid-19, according to the study.
The researchers also looked at the responses of T cells, another component of the immune system.
“[Outcomes from] the trial also suggests that the vaccines also produce a T-cell response within 28 days, ”the researchers wrote.
Remember: Scientists who were not involved in the study said that while the results are a positive sign, only the largest phase three trials can confirm whether the vaccine actually prevents Covid-19 disease.
“The data on Russian vaccine studies published in The Lancet are encouraging,” said Brendan Wren, professor of microbial pathogenesis at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
In the study, half of the participants developed a fever and 42% developed headaches. Also, about 28% experienced weakness and 24% had joint pain.
The article did not say how long these side effects lasted, but said that “most of the adverse events were mild.”
The vaccine was registered in Russia in August, before it went through large-scale trials. Researchers at the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology in Russia received approval on Aug. 26 to conduct a phase three trial, which is expected to have 40,000 volunteers, according to a news release from The Lancet. Researchers are already distributing the vaccine to high-risk groups, according to Kirill Dmietriev, director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which funds Russian vaccine research.
Gamaleya is using adenovirus in its Covid-19 vaccines; this is the same type of approach used in the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. Adenovirus delivers genetic material for the spike protein that sits on top of the virus that causes Covid-19, and that genetic material is designed to generate an immune response to the virus that causes Covid-19.
Adenoviruses can cause a variety of symptoms, including the common cold. Researchers manipulate the virus so that it does not replicate and cause disease.
The Gamaleya vaccine is administered in two doses, and each dose used a different adenovirus vector.
“Using two different viruses offers a theoretical advantage,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccinologist at the University of Pennsylvania.
