Russia on Wednesday approved its second coronavirus vaccine after preliminary trials, Reuters reported. The vaccine was developed by the Vector Institute in Siberia.
Early-stage human trials of the vaccine were completed last month, but the results have not been published yet. Phase 3 trials of the vaccine are yet to begin.
The announcement of the approval was made by President Vladimir Putin at a meeting. “We need to increase production of the first and second vaccine,” Putin was quoted as saying by the news agency. “We are continuing to cooperate with our foreign partners and will promote our vaccine abroad.”
The vaccine was tested on 100 volunteers, according to AP. The trial participants were between 18 and 60 years of age.
Russia had on September 10 started inoculating volunteers with the “Sputnik V” vaccine against the coronavirus in Moscow. The country had rolled out the first batch of the vaccines for public use on September 8.
The vaccine was found to produce an antibody response in all participants in early-stage trials, according to results published in the medical journal The Lancet.
Russia on August 11 announced they had developed the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, but were criticised by scientists and experts for not conducting Phase 3 trials to determine its safety. A vaccine is deemed safe to be commercially available only after Phase 3 – a much larger efficacy trial involving thousands of participants. The advanced trial for the vaccine began on August 26.
Russia has reported over 13.32 lakh coronavirus cases and more than 23,000 deaths so far, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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