This Tuesday, Russia became the first nation in the world to announce the first COVID vaccine. The nation granted regulatory approval to a coronavirus vaccine after less than two months of human testing.
President Vladimir Putin made the announcement adding the fact that his daughter has been vaccinated too. Speaking at a government meeting on state television, Putin said the vaccine, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, was safe.
He added that he hoped the country would soon start mass-producing the vaccine.
Russia is yet to conduct a larger trial involving thousands of participants, commonly known as a Phase III trial. These trials require a certain rate of participants catching the virus to observe the vaccine’s effect, which is normally considered essential precursors for a vaccine to receive regulatory approval.
“I know that it works quite effectively, forms strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the needed checks,” he said.
Russian health workers treating coronavirus patients will be offered the chance of volunteering to be vaccinated soon after the vaccine’s approval, quoted a news agency.
Previous clinical trials
Earlier Russia was the first nation to complete clinical trials of the Covid-19 vaccine on humans, and the results had proven the medication’s effectiveness.
The country had allowed clinical trials of two forms of a potential Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology on June 18. Their first vaccine, in the form of a solution for intramuscular administration, was carried out at the Burdenko Military Hospital. Another vaccine, in the form of a powder for the preparation of a solution for intramuscular administration, was tested at Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University.
As per reports, the first stage of research on the vaccine at Sechenov University involved a group of 18 volunteers, and the second group involved 20 volunteers. All volunteers were kept in isolation in a hospital for 28 days.
The then results of the COVID-19 vaccine tests performed on a group of volunteers in Russia showed that they were developing immunity to the virus.
“The data obtained by the Gamalei National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, proves that volunteers of the first and second groups are forming an immune response after injections of the vaccine against the coronavirus,” according to an earlier statement from Russian Defense Ministry.
To date, Russia has reported 719,449 cases and 11,188 deaths. There are at least 21 vaccines currently under key trials, according to the World Health Organization.
More than 100 possible vaccines are being developed around the world to control the coronavirus pandemic of which at least four are in final Phase III human trials, according to WHO data.