The director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi said on Tuesday that the safety of Russia’s anti-coronavirus vaccine needs to be ensured before it can be released for public use, India Today reported.
Randeep Guleria’s comments came after Russia announced it has developed the first vaccine for Covid-19 called ‘Sputnik V’. However, many scientists have raised concerns about registering the vaccine before Phase 3 trials, which take months to complete and require participation of thousands of people.
“First, we need to be clear that the vaccine is safe,” Dr Guleria said in an interview with India Today TV. “That is the first standard that the world will look at for mass production.” He also said that India needs to consider to consider the efficacy of the vaccine and take into account factors such as the sample size of the vaccine trials. He added that the Indian government will also need to see how long the antibodies produced by the vaccine last.
Putin claimed on Tuesday that the vaccine was found to be efficient during the testing period, providing lasting immunity from the virus.
On Monday, Russia’s Association of Clinical Trials Organizations wrote to Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, telling him that less than 100 people have been vaccinated and that its widespread usage can prove to be dangerous at this stage, Bloomberg reported. “Why are all corporations following the rules, but Russian ones aren’t?” the association’s Executive Director Svetlana Zavidova said. “The rules for conducting clinical trials are written in blood. They can’t be violated. Fast-tracked approval will not make Russia the leader in the race, it will just expose consumers of the vaccine to unnecessary danger.”
World Health Organization spokesperson Christian Lindmeier also said that vaccines would have to clear all stages of testing before they can be registered. Meanwhile, top United States infectious disease official Dr Anthony Fauci said he had not heard or seen any evidence that the vaccine was ready for widespread use.
Russian business conglomerate Sistema said it expects the vaccine to be in mass production by the end of the year, Hindustan Times reported.
India on Wednesday reported 60,963 cases of the coronavirus, taking the overall tally to 23,29,639. The toll rose by 834 to 46,091. While there are 6,43,948 actives cases, 16,39,599 have recovered from the virus.
Globally, coronavirus has infected more than 2.02 crore people, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The worldwide toll rose to 7,39,960. More than 1.25 crore people have recovered.
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