[ad_1]
Published:
Updated:
Now there are indications that the Russian “Sputnik V” vaccine provides protection against covid-19.
All 76 participants in the vaccine’s first clinical trials developed antibodies, according to The Lancet.
– With this post, we answer all the questions that have been asked over and over again in the western world during the last three weeks, and that in the name of honesty they had a clear goal of dirtying the Russian vaccine, says Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian state fund RDIF, which finances the vaccine.
In June and July this year, two smaller clinical studies of “Sputnik V” were carried out at the Gamaleja Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow.
Of the 76 study participants, all developed antibodies after three weeks and none experienced serious side effects, according to the research report published in The Lancet.
“Clear target to the ground”
Larger and more comprehensive studies are needed to determine how safe the vaccine is in the long term, the researchers write in the report.
In particular, the follow-up time in the first two studies was only 42 days and the number of participants was small.
Also, no placebo control vaccine has been used. The participants were also relatively young, and the researchers believe that more research is needed to evaluate the vaccine in different age groups.
From the Russian side, the results look like a success.
– With this post, we answer all the questions that have been asked over and over again in the western world over the last three weeks, and that in the name of honesty they had a clear goal of dirtying the Russian vaccine, says Kirill Dmitriev, director of the state investment fund Russian Direct Investment Fund, one of the actors behind the vaccine, according to Reuters.
It was in early August that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the country had approved the vaccine, after it had only been tested on 38 people.
Next step
According to Vladimir Putin, “Sputnik V” works effectively and creates stable immunity.
But several experts have been hesitant, in part because the vaccine has not been tested in larger studies. The World Health Organization (WHO) said in August that its seal of approval for a vaccine requires the organization to conduct a comprehensive review of vaccine efficacy and safety data collected during clinical trials.
Kirill Dmitriev told Reuters that at least 3,000 people have been recruited for the next step, which is a long-term clinical study of the vaccine, which will begin next week.
The first responses to that study are expected in October-November of this year.
Dr. Naor Bar-Zeev of the Johns Hopkins University Vaccine Center told Reuters that the results of the first studies are “encouraging but small.”
Published:
