AstraZeneca to merge its COVID vaccine with Russia’s Sputnik V

Combinations of different vaccines could be an important step in coronavirus prevention, according to AstraZeneca.

The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will begin clinical trials of a combination of its own COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine with the Russian drug Sputnik V. This was reported on the company’s website on Friday, December 11.

“Today we announce the start of a clinical research program to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the combined use of the AZD1222 vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca in cooperation with the University of Oxford, and the Sputnik V vaccine, developed by the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology NF Gamaleya, with the participation of volunteers over 18 years of age, “the company said in a statement.

It is indicated that the AZD1222 and Sputnik V vaccines are created on the basis of adenoviral vectors, into which the peak protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is inserted.

AstraZeneca emphasized that the combinations of different vaccines could be “an important step in the prevention of COVID-19 by enhancing the immune response and increasing the availability of drugs.”

The company told the BBC that clinical trials will take place in Russia, but it is not known when they will start and how many people will participate in them.

Earlier this week, scientists from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca published data from phase III clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine in three countries: Brazil, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Vaccination efficacy was stated to be 62% to 90%. The study involved nearly 24,000 people and only three showed side effects.

And the day before it was learned that 150 thousand people in Russia have already received the Sputnik V vaccine. This is a record number of people vaccinated with the drug against COVID-19, compared to any other country.

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