MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia had become the first country in the world to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing, a move reported by Moscow as proof of his scientific prowess.
PHOTO PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin discusses the environmental situation in the city of Usolye-Sibirskoye in the Irkutsk region during a video conference meeting with officials at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia July 30, 2020. Sputnik / Alexei Nikolsky / Kremlin
The development paves the way for the mass inoculation of the Russian population, even as the final stage of clinical trials to test safety and effectiveness.
The speed with which Russia is moving to roll out its vaccine marks its determination to win the global race for an effective product, but has raised concerns that it may put national prestige on sound science and security.
Speaking at a government meeting on state television, Putin said the vaccine, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, was safe and given to one of his daughters.
“I know it works fairly effectively, forms strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the necessary checks,” Putin said.
He said he hoped the country would mass-produce the vaccine soon.
The approval of the Ministry of Health foresees the start of a larger trial with thousands of participants, often known as a Phase III trial.
Such trials, which require a certain rate of participants catching the virus to observe the effect of the vaccine, are normally considered as essential precursors for a vaccine to obtain regulatory approval.
Regulators around the world have argued that the rush to develop COVID-19 vaccines does not compromise security. But recent research shows growing public distrust in governments’ efforts to produce such a vaccine rapidly.
Russian health workers treating COVID-19 patients will be offered the opportunity to vaccinate volunteers shortly after the vaccine is approved, a source told Reuters last month.
More than 100 possible fax machines are being developed around the world to try to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. At least four are in final Phase III human trials, according to WHO data.
Report by Maxim Rodionov, Vladimir Soldatkin, Polina Ivanova and Alexander Marrow; Written by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Edited by Andrew Osborn
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