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Russia claimed on Wednesday that its COVID-19 vaccine is already 92% effective at averting and preventing its people from acquiring coronavirus based on their interim trial results.
There is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund or the RDIF called Sputnik V.
They said that the first few results from their late-stage phase three clinical trials of the said vaccine showcased efficacy and effectiveness, which amounted to 92% using their calculations that are “based on the 20 confirmed COVID-19 cases split between vaccinated individuals and those who received the placebo.”
There are currently 40,000 volunteers participating and taking part in their randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 of Sputnik V clinical trials.
Over 20,000 volunteers have already gone through with the vaccinations with the first dose. At the same time, 16,000 participants are finished with both the first and second doses of the said coronavirus vaccine.
It is worth noting that Russia was the first country to register and have their coronavirus vaccine approved in August. This statement alarmed and concerned a few international scientific community members about the approval’s speed and swiftness.
During that time, the vaccine has not even started phase 3 of its trials. Concerns were also raised due to the lack of data available to support Russian claims for its COVID-19 vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.
However, Russia presented and published a few data from their early stages of the clinical trials this September. They repeatedly and continually insisted that their vaccine is safe and effective. Last Wednesday, RDIF stated that “there were no unexpected adverse events during the participants’ trials and monitoring is ongoing.”
Study participants will be observed for a total of six months before Russia gives a full report of their phase 3 clinical trials.
However, their interim research data will be published and presented by the Gamaleya Center team, which developed and created the vaccine in “one of the leading international peer-reviewed medical journals.” There is still no indication when this might happen.
Race For Cure
On Wednesday, Russia’s announcement came immediately after the United States’ pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany’s firm BioNTech had developed and created a COVID-19 vaccine that was said to be more than 90% effective.
Russia has been accused of engaging in a vaccine race as drugmakers and companies around the globe try to develop effective and safe protection against this deadly virus that has claimed over 1.2 million lives, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Currently, Russia has the fifth-highest number of COVID-19 infections, with over 1.8 million cases to date.
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