Russia Releases 1st Covid Vaccine “Sputnik V” 

“This morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus was registered in Russia,” Vladimir Putin declared during a video conference call with government ministers. The president also added that one of his daughters had been vaccinated using the latest drug, developed by the Gamaleya research institute. 

The registration of the vaccine lays the foundation for mass immunisation while the decisive stages of clinical trials to test safety and potency continue.

The story so far 

• Russia declares its novel Coronavirus vaccine is set for a mass production
• 160 vaccine candidates are in the pre-clinical or clinical trials
• 28 of them are already being used for human trials. 
• 5 of them in the last stages aka the phase-3 of human trials 
• 8 vaccine candidates being developed in India. 
• 2 vaccines developed in India for COVID-19 have entered phase -II trials 

Naming the vaccine “Sputnik V” – after the Soviet satellite, Russian officials claimed it provided reliable & well-built immunity. Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, stated Phase 3 trials would kickstart on Wednesday and mass vaccine production is expected from September with 20 countries having pre-ordered more than a billion doses already. 

The vaccine is anticipated to get into production quickly. In addition to the facility at the Gamaleya Institute, it is reckoned to be produced by Sistema, a big Russian business house. In a report on Tuesday, Sistema said the initial batches of the vaccine were good to go and would be shipped to Russian territories. The doctors and healthcare workers who are at high risk of infection will be getting the first dosage of the same. 

Dr Anthony Fauci, the prime US infectious disease specialist had his reservations on the expedited procedure last week. He was quoted saying – “I do hope that the Chinese and the Russians are actually testing a vaccine before they are administering the vaccine to anyone because claims of having a vaccine ready to distribute before you do testing I think is problematic at best”

Close to 100 potential vaccines are being developed around the world to combat the pandemic. Companies including Moderna Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc are still carrying final-stage trials of their vaccines- results of which are expected to be released soon. While none of the Covid19 vaccines under development has demonstrated its efficacy yet in clinical trials, at least 5.7 billion doses have been pre-ordered around the world.

Here’s to hoping that we finally get the vaccines and win this war against COVID-19! May the odds be in our favour!