Amid the world-wide race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a coronavirus vaccine, touted as the world’s first such vaccine. The registration of the vaccine lays ground for mass inoculation even as the final stages of clinical trials to test safety and efficacy continue.
Russia dubbed its newly launched vaccine against coronavirus “Sputnik V” after the Soviet satellite, the head of the country’s sovereign wealth fund said, as per reports.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund which finances the vaccine project, said Phase 3 trials would start on Wednesday, industrial production was expected from September and that 20 countries had pre-ordered more than a billion doses, AFP reported.
Putin emphasized that the vaccine underwent the necessary tests. He said that one f his two daughters has received a shot of the vaccine and is feeling well.
“I know that it works quite effectively, forms strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the needed checks,” Putin was quoted as saying by Reuters.
However, the vaccine’s registration is conditional and trials will continue while production gets underway, said Russia’s Health Minister Mikhail Murashko
Murashko also added that the first Russian vaccine against the coronavirus will begin to be produced at two sites – the Gamaleya Research Institute and the company Binnopharm.
“The two-stage injection plan helps form a lasting immunity. The experience with vector vaccines and two-stage scheme shows that immunity lasts for up to two years”, the Health Ministry said, as reported by Sputnik News.