Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, is about 91% effective and appears to prevent serious cases of infection, according to a study released Tuesday.
The results of the British medical journal The Lancet come from a phase 3 trial of some 20,000 people in Russia last autumn.
Concerns over the safety of the two-dose jab mounted after Russia approved Sputnik V in August, ahead of its Western competitors and before large-scale clinical trials begin.
At the time, President Vladimir Putin said one of her daughters had been vaccinated with her, even though it had only been tested on several dozen people.
The latest study included about 20,000 participants over the age of 18 at 25 Moscow hospitals between September and November. Three-quarters received two doses of Sputnik V with a 21-day separation and the rest obtained placebos.
The most common side effects were flu-like symptoms, pain at the injection site, and fatigue. Serious side effects in both groups were rare. Four deaths were reported, but none were considered the result of the vaccine.
The study also included more than 2,100 people over the age of 60, with a vaccine that was shown to be more than 92 percent effective in them.
The Russian vaccine is similar to that developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. Both use a modified version of the common adenovirus that causes colds to carry genes for the coronavirus ear protein to drive the body to react to a COVID infection.
But unlike the AstraZeneca / Oxford shot, the Russian version uses a slightly different adenovirus for its second booster shot.
“This aims to boost higher immune responses to the‘ tip ’target by means of slightly different blows,” Alexander Edwards, an associate professor of biomedical technology at the British University of Reading, who was not connected to the Associated Press, told the Associated Press. Russian research. .
Some experts say the altered Russian vaccine could be the reason why the Russian vaccine has had better results than AstraZeneca, which has an effectiveness rate of 60 to 70 percent.
Last month, Putin ordered mass vaccinations in the country to begin, which he said will be able to inoculate 700 million people this year, according to TASS news agency.
In December, the Russian scientist behind Sputnik V said the spike could offer two years of protection against COVID-19.
A batch of 40,000 doses of Sputnik V was delivered on Tuesday to Hungary, the first member of the European Union to approve and order the vaccine.
Sputnik V has also received authorization in more than a dozen countries and more than 50 countries have submitted applications for 2.4 billion doses.
With publishing cables