Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised the world by announcing - yesterday, Tuesday - that his country had developed "the first" vaccine against the Covid-19 epidemic, and its production would start from September, so what are the data about it? The answer is in this report.
And Putin announced the registration of the first vaccine against the Corona virus in the world, and said that one of his daughters had obtained it.
Putin added that he had asked Health Minister Mikhail Murashko to provide detailed information about the vaccine, noting that he knew that it "works somewhat effectively and constitutes stable immunity," and stressed that he "passed all necessary tests."
And the Minister of Health had announced earlier that the clinical trials of the vaccine - which was developed by the Jamalia National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, affiliated to the Russian Ministry of Health - has ended.
"One of my daughters has received the vaccine, and thus she will have participated in the test," the Russian "TASS" agency quoted Putin as saying.
Putin explained that his daughter suffered a slight rise in temperature after receiving the first dose, as her temperature rose to 38, before it decreased to a little higher than normal the next day.
"After the second dose, she suffered from a slight high temperature again, and after that everything became fine. She is in good health and has a large number of antibodies," he added.
A special website for the new Russian vaccine has been launched, in order to publish detailed and new information about it, and to "counter the disinformation campaign that was launched in the international media against the vaccine," according to the site.
What is the name of the vaccine?
The vaccine was called "Sputnik V", and its official website says that "it was registered by the Russian Ministry of Health on 11 August, to become the first registered vaccine against the emerging corona virus in the market, and this event formed the so-called (Sputnik satellite moment) for the global community of vaccine researchers. "
The site adds that the successful launch of the first space satellite by the Soviet Union in 1957, stimulated space research around the world, and therefore the new vaccine was called "Sputnik V" to be the new Russian vaccine against Covid-19 that will lead global efforts in this field.
It should be noted that the letter “V” is the first letter of the word vaccine in several languages, according to the French News Agency.
What kind of vaccine "Sputnik In"?
The Russian vaccine is based on adenoviral vectors, and human adenoviruses are among the easiest and simplest for the adjustment process, and therefore their spread has expanded as vectors.
"Vectors" are carriers that can deliver genetic material from another virus to a cell. The genetic material for the adenovirus that causes the infection is removed, while a gene carrying a code-coded "protein" enters from another virus, and in the current case, from the Coronavirus.
This new component is safe for the body, but it helps the immune system to respond and produce antibodies that protect it from infection, according to the vaccine site.
How did the Russians get the vaccine?
After the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russian researchers extracted part of the genetic material for the emerging corona virus "SARS-COV-2", which encodes data about the structure of the "S" protein (the protein that forms the "crown" of the virus and is responsible About its association with human cells), and they implanted it within a vector known to them from adenoviruses in order to deliver it to the human cell, and thus the world's first vaccine against the Corona virus was found.
In order to provide long-term immunity, Russian scientists suggested using two different types of adenovirus-based vectors in the first and second vaccinations, which would enhance the effectiveness of the vaccine.
The official website of the vaccine says that it is safe to use human adenoviruses as vectors, because these viruses that cause colds are not new, and they have been around for thousands of years.
Where did the Russian vaccine tests arrive?
The site says that before starting clinical tests (tests on humans), the vaccine completely passed all pre-clinical stages, in terms of efficacy and safety, and this included experiments on different types of laboratory animals, including two primates.
The first and second phases of the clinical tests were concluded on August 1, 2020. All volunteers passed the tests well, and no unexpected, dangerous or unwanted phenomena were recorded, and the latest vaccine had a strong response in terms of antibodies and also in terms of cellular immunity, and no Participant in the current clinical test for the Coronavirus after receiving the vaccine.
The high efficacy of the vaccine was also confirmed by high-resolution tests, to detect antibodies in the blood serums of the volunteers, (including an analysis to detect antibodies that neutralize the Corona virus), and also by the ability of the immune cells of the volunteers to activate in response to the "S" protein. The spinal protuberance of the Coronavirus, which indicates the formation of an immune response in terms of antibodies, and also in terms of the cellular immune response as a result of vaccination.
On August 12, the third phase of clinical tests will begin, with the participation of more than two thousand people in Russia and a number of countries of the world.
The vaccine received a registration certificate from the Russian Ministry of Health on August 11, and it can be used to vaccinate the population in Russia according to the rules approved during the pandemic period, and large-scale production of the vaccine is expected in September.
Questioning an American
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauchi, expressed serious doubts about the safety and efficacy of the Russian vaccine.
"I hope that the Russians have already and categorically proven that the vaccine is safe and effective .. I seriously doubt that they did," ABC News quoted Fauci as saying.
He emphasized that access to any vaccine and proof that it is safe and effective are two different things.
He said that the United States continues to develop a number of vaccines, and added, "If we want to take advantage of the opportunity to harm a lot of people or give them something that does not work, we can start with that if we want to next week, but this is not the way things are going."
He added that he had not heard any evidence to convince him that the vaccine was actually ready, calling on Americans to understand that "the announcements made by the Chinese or the Russians that they have a vaccine" are different from the American ones, "because we have a way to do things in this country and that is that we care about safety."
Russian response to skeptics
For his part, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko announced that the vaccine has proven effective and will soon begin to be produced and used in treating people with the epidemic, according to Russia Today.
Morashko said - today, Wednesday, during a press briefing - that the production of the first batches of the new Russian vaccine will begin within the next two weeks, and that its use will begin immediately, indicating that the vaccine producers will focus on meeting the needs of the Russian internal market.
The minister emphasized that the vaccination campaign against Corona in Russia will be only voluntary.
He pointed out that the Russian vaccine depends on a concrete and reliable scientific ground, and has proven its effectiveness in clinical tests, expressing his conviction that foreign positions that have expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the vaccine are not neutral.
He said, "Foreign colleagues who are likely to feel the competition and competitive advantage of the Russian drug, are trying to present positions that are completely unfounded, according to our opinion. But the Russian vaccine - as I repeat again - is the solution that is based on specific knowledge and clinical data."