Russian researchers have presented the first interim results of phase III testing of the Sputnik V vaccine.
After evaluating the results on more than 20,000 subjects, the vaccine has an effectiveness of 91.6 percent.
This makes it almost as effective as the vaccines from Biontech and Moderna, and significantly more effective than the vaccine from AstraZeneca.
Russia is now seeking approval for Sputnik V in the EU.
The British manufacturer Astra in particular is likely to be annoyed by the result, because Sputnik V is the same type of vaccine as AstraZeneca: The instructions for the coronavirus spike protein are inserted into a genetically modified, harmless adenovirus.
However, the Russian researchers did one crucial thing differently than their British counterparts.