Russia announces world's first COVID-19 vaccine; Putin's daughter gets vaccinated
In a major (but questionable) development, Russia has announced the world's first COVID-19 vaccine. The shot, developed by the country's Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, has been given regulatory approvals by the country's Health Ministry. Further, President Vladimir Putin claims that his daughter has already been vaccinated by it. Here are more details.
Putin's announcement of vaccine registration
Just recently, President Putin held a televised video conference with his ministers and announced, "This morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus was registered." He thanked everyone who worked on the fast-tracked vaccine and said that the move is "a very important step for the world" to fight the ongoing pandemic.
Registration paves way for mass-inoculation
Now, the registration officially clears the vaccine for widespread public use. However, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko says the approval is conditional and the last stage of vaccine trials (Phase-3) will continue as they move toward manufacturing it for mass-immunization efforts. Previously, it was reported that production will take place in September and mass-inoculation drives will be carried out in October.
High-risk groups likely to be vaccinated first
Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Health Minister, Oleg Gridnev, had said last week that the vaccine will be first given to members of high-risk groups such as medical professionals and senior citizens. Some reports have indicated that the vaccination efforts for these groups might begin as early as this month and move parallelly with the Phase-3 trials, which will have a total of 1,600 volunteers.
Putin's daughter already vaccinated
During the conference, Putin asked Murashko to keep him informed on the vaccine but emphasized that he knows "it works quite effectively" and "forms a stable immunity". He also noted that the shot went through necessary tests and one of his two daughters has already been injected by it. Putin said she is feeling well, Associated Press reported.
However, experts remain skeptical of the approach
Despite the claims, many remain skeptical of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine, as the country has not published any safety/efficacy data related to the shot. Also, it has given the approval after less than two months of testing, a process that requires several months and has led experts to believe that the country is cutting essential corners to win the global race of vaccine development.
Other candidates in the race of vaccine development
Along with Russia's shot, 27 other candidate vaccines, developed by institutes and organizations around the world, are moving through trials. However, out of these, only 6 are in the third and final stage of the human studies: 3 from China, 1 jointly developed by China, Germany, and the US, and 1 each from the UK and the US.
