Russia has registered its second coronavirus vaccine and will move to final phase of clinical trials -

Alexei Druzhinin / TASS / Sipa USA / SIPA

The Vektor laboratory in Siberia, “recorded the second vaccine against the coronavirus today, named EpiVacCorona,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told a ministerial meeting by video conference.

The Vektor laboratory in the Novosibirsk region carried out secret research on biological weapons during the Soviet period and contains samples of viruses ranging from smallpox to Ebola.

The vaccine has a "sufficiently high level of safety," Russian Deputy Health Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova told the meeting.

This step is prior in Russia to the final phase of clinical trials which will involve 40,000 volunteers, she added.

A first vaccine perceived with skepticism in the world

Russia registered in August its first vaccine against the new coronavirus, developed by the Moscow research center Gamaleia with the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Called Sputnik V, in reference to the Soviet satellite, it was viewed with skepticism in the world, in particular because it had not reached the final phase of the tests when it was announced with great fanfare by the authorities.

A large part of the Russian political elite nevertheless said they had been vaccinated, Vladimir Putin citing in particular the example of one of his daughters.

And the government hopes to deploy it massively in the country before the end of the year.

90% of hospital beds reserved for Covid-19 patients occupied

Russia has seen a significant resurgence of the epidemic in recent weeks, with 14,231 new cases in 24 hours announced on Wednesday, a record since the start of the new coronavirus crisis.

On Tuesday, the country recorded a record number of deaths (244 in 24 hours), with authorities indicating that 90% of hospital beds reserved for patients affected by the coronavirus were now occupied.

The latter, however, claim to control the situation and want at all costs to avoid new strict containment measures, with devastating effects for an economy that was already sluggish before the pandemic.

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  • Russia

  • Covid 19

  • Coronavirus

  • Health

  • Vaccine

  • Vladimir Poutine