Members of Russia’s business and political elite have allegedly had access to an experimental vaccine against the new coronavirus since April, according to a report released Sunday.
Several hundred people, including top executives, billionaire tycoons, and government officials have received vaccines of the Gamaleya vaccine, developed by the state-run Gamaleya Institute, people familiar with the effort told Bloomberg.
The program, where members had the opportunity to volunteer to receive doses of the vaccine, “is legal but is kept secret to avoid falling in love with potential participants,” the media company reported, citing an investigator.
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A subject receives an injection in the clinical trial of the first-stage safety study of a possible vaccine made by Moderna for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus on March 16, 2020. (AP Photo / Ted S. Warren, File)
“It is unclear how participants are selected and are not part of the official studies, although the institute controls them and records their results,” said Bloomberg.
The selected participants are not part of the official studies on the experimental vaccine, which is funded by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and backed by the military, the media company reported. It recently completed a phase one trial with Russian military personnel last week. The vaccine is essentially a common cold virus fused with the SARS spike protein CoV-2 to elicit an immune response.
RDIF chief Kirill Dmitriev said last week that phase three trials will begin on August 3, according to Bloomberg. They will include thousands of people in Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with the vaccine potentially distributed nationwide in September.
The head of the Gamaleya center, Alexander Gintsburg, told the Russian news agency Interfax that he was unaware of certain tycoons testing the candidate vaccine, while an assistant to the Russian health minister said the shooting had not yet come in. in “civil circulation,” according to the Moscow Times. .
Meanwhile, Dmitriev said he and his family had taken shots for the vaccine, adding that other volunteers also had the opportunity, Bloomberg reported. Patients typically take two injections at a Moscow clinic associated with the institute to elicit an immune response. Some participants reported symptoms, such as fever and muscle aches, after receiving the vaccines.
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The media company confirmed the identities of dozens who received the experimental vaccine, but none allowed their names to be released. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not respond to a message from Bloomberg asking if President Vladimir Putin or others in his administration have taken the photos.
Last Thursday, security officials in the United Kingdom, the US and Canada claimed that Russian cyber hackers are targeting organizations involved in the development of the coronavirus vaccine.
“It is completely unacceptable for the Russian intelligence services to target those working to combat the coronavirus pandemic,” said UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in a statement. “While others pursue their selfish interests with reckless behavior, the UK and its allies continue the hard work of finding a vaccine and protecting global health.”
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As of Monday morning, Russia has seen more than 770,311 total coronavirus cases and at least 12,323 deaths from the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Fox News’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
