In Russia announced the readiness of the vaccine against coronavirus: the United States and Europe are wary

Clinical trials of the first coronavirus vaccine have been completed in Russia. In the near future, it should receive registration, after which mass vaccination should begin in October, said Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, writes with the BBC.

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The vaccine was developed by scientists from the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after N.F. Gamaleya. According to the minister, several more vaccines are in the works.

“The first coronavirus vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Institute has completed clinical trials, and a package of documents for the registration procedure is now being prepared. Another vaccine is undergoing clinical trials, we expect at least two more applications in the next one and a half to two months for permission to conduct clinical trials,” Murashko said.

Mass vaccination, according to the head of the Ministry of Health, may begin in Russia in October, but special groups of the population will be vaccinated first - doctors, teachers and those who are constantly in contact with large groups of people. Previously, Russian authorities reported that vaccination would be free.

Russia's sweeping progress in making a coronavirus vaccine in the US and Europe has been greeted with caution. Skepticism about the Russian vaccine was expressed by both the media and officials responsible for health care.

They fear that clinical trials may have been carried out inappropriately in an effort to win the vaccine race against other countries. Since Russia has not published any scientific data on vaccine testing, it is impossible to verify this.

At a congressional hearing, leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed doubts that vaccine testing in Russia and China was properly conducted due to how quickly they ended.

On the subject: Why the coronavirus vaccine has been developed for so long: a scientific explanation

Russian President Vladimir Putin in April instructed the government to make decisions aimed at simplifying and shortening the time frame for preclinical and clinical trials, as well as state registration of drugs for the prevention of coronavirus.

Clinical trials

The first Russian anti-coronavirus vaccine was developed by scientists from the Gamaleya Institute together with the Ministry of Defense, and back in mid-July, the military department reported on its successful completion of tests on volunteers at the military hospital. Burdenko.

“At the time of discharge, all volunteers, without exception, having received immunity to coronavirus, felt normal. Thus, the first domestic vaccine against the new coronavirus infection is ready,” said First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov, saying that mass production is planned to begin in August, immediately upon receipt of approval.

The Ministry of Defense emphasized that the test results unambiguously show the development of an immune response in all volunteers, no side effects, complications or unwanted reactions, no complaints about their health were found.

The other day, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said that this vaccine is one of the two most promising.

“In August 2020, it is planned to register it with the state on conditions, that is, with the conduct of another clinical trial on 1,6 thousand people after registration. The launch into industrial production is expected in September 2020,” Golikova said.

There are also doubts about the safety of the vaccine among the scientific community.

On the subject: 'Will not save you from infection': the rush to create a vaccine against coronavirus can affect its quality

“As I said, vaccination will begin with risk groups. And if doctors are an obvious risk group, then teachers in this case, of course, are out of luck. It is still possible to justify vaccinating doctors with an untested vaccine, but it is no longer possible to justify the teachers who were not involved. And the main thing is that this will not be a full-fledged CI, since they will simply vaccinate and see what happens; normal analysis and comparison are not expected,” writes scientific journalist Irina Yakutenko in the Telegram channel.

The same vaccine

We are apparently talking about the so-called “vector vaccine”, assembled based on the DNA of an adenovirus with an integrated gene for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The adenovirus, like a messenger courier, delivers the coronavirus gene into cells, triggering the synthesis of coronavirus shell proteins there and “introducing” the immune system to it.

In May, it was reported that scientists from the Gamaleya Institute first of all, even at the stage of testing the vaccine on animals, self-vaccinated, prompting criticism from the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (AOCI) and accusations of violating clinical research guidelines.

However, the director of the Institute, Alexander Gintsburg, explained that the center’s employees injected themselves with an experimental drug “in order to continue development during a pandemic without the risk of infection,” noting that the scientists did not identify any side effects.

In mid-July, there were reports that some members of the Russian elite allegedly gained access to the Russian coronavirus vaccine produced by the Gamaleya Institute back in April, before the May surge in infection, however, both the administration of the institute and representatives of the Ministry of Health denied this.

It is also known that the Russian company R-Pharm, which is one of the largest Russian distributors and manufacturers of medicines, has entered into an agreement with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstroZeneka to supply the vaccine, which is being developed at the University of Oxford, to Russia and other countries.

The AstroZeneka and Oxford University coronavirus vaccine is similar in principle of action to the Russian one, but the British one was closer to completion: the third stage of trials began in July, when the vaccine was inoculated in large groups of volunteers.

However, the British authorities have repeatedly stated that in any case, mass vaccinations are unlikely to begin before 2021.

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