MOSCOW, Aug 15, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Russia said Saturday that it has produced
the first batch of its coronavirus vaccine, after President Vladimir Putin
announced it had been first in the world to approve a vaccine.
Putin’s announcement on Tuesday about the vaccine was met with caution from
scientists and the World Health Organization who said it still needed a
rigorous safety review.
“The first batch of the novel coronavirus vaccine developed by the Gamaleya
research institute has been produced,” the health ministry said in a
statement quoted by Russian news agencies.
Putin said the vaccine was safe and that one of his own daughters had been
inoculated, though clinical trials were not yet complete and final stage
testing involving more than 2,000 people only started this week.
Western scientists were sceptical, with some warning that moving too
quickly on a vaccine could be dangerous, but Russia denounced criticism as an
attempt to undermine Moscow’s research.
The Russian vaccine is called “Sputnik V” after the Soviet-era satellite
that was the first launched into space in 1957.
It was developed by the Gamaleya research institute for epidemiology and
microbiology in Moscow in coordination with the Russian defence ministry.
The head of the institute, Alexander Gintsburg, told the TASS state news
agency on Saturday that volunteers taking part in the final stage testing of
the vaccine’s safety and efficacy would have two inoculations.
Russia has said that industrial production is expected from September and
that it plans to manufacture 5 million doses per month by December or
January.
Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said this week that the vaccine would
first be made available to medics and would later be available to all
Russians on a voluntary basis.
With more than 917,000 confirmed infections, Russia’s coronavirus caseload
is currently fourth in the world after the United States, Brazil and India.
Currently Russia has 92,000 people hospitalised with the virus and 2,900 in
intensive care, according to the health ministry.