[ad_1]
A group of researchers has raised concerns about “repeating patterns” of data in an article describing early-stage clinical trials of Russia’s COVID vaccine. Specifically, the 15 researchers, who sent a letter to The Lancet, state that the level of antibodies in various patients is the same, which is “unlikely,” writes nature.com.
In an open letter to the study authors, who published the results of the Russian “Sputnik V” vaccine this month in The Lancet, the researchers highlight values that appear to be duplicates and note that the work presents its results without providing a detailed breakdown of the data on which it is based.
“Although the research described in this study is potentially significant, the presentation of the data raises several concerns that require access to the original data to be fully investigated,” the letter signed so far by 38 scientists reads.
The open letter was also posted on a blog by molecular biologist Enrico Bucci, who says he noticed irregularities in the vaccine data.
For example, in a figure in which the authors report measurements of markers of an immune cell type in the blood, many members of two groups of nine volunteers tested with different vaccine formulations appear to have the same levels. “The chances of this happening by coincidence are extremely small,” says Bucci.
According to a study published this month in The Lancet, the Covid-19 vaccine developed and tested in Russia generated antibodies in dozens of subjects studied, and while the vaccine often caused side effects like fever, those side effects were mostly mild. .
Russia drew criticism when it announced the world’s first approved coronavirus vaccine in August, just before the completion of crucial studies in the third phase of testing.
Editing: Robert Kiss
