Russian vaccine: referents of the clear investigation …

“Yes we vaccinate 15 thousand people with the first dose and 14 thousand with the second. Soon we will transfer the technology to our strategic partners. We have obtained very good efficiency results and we will publish them shortly, ”said Russian scientist Denis Logunov, deputy director of the Gamaleya National Research Center in Epidemiology and Microbiology, during a conference with Argentinian journalists. “In two weeks we will receive the preliminary results and publish them. We have to follow the protocol and the broadcast. The visibility of the articles is much greater if they are published in English, so we will communicate them through The Lancet, ”he said, citing the need to share the results of phase 3 to verify the effectiveness and the safety of the vaccine.

Monday, Pfizer Yes BioNTech, who are testing their candidate at CABA military hospital, have confirmed that their vaccine has a 90 percent effective. Although Logunov did not speak at the conference about the effectiveness of the vaccine itself, Oksana Drápkina, a leading independent specialist in therapy and general medicine at the Russian Ministry of Health, told RT television that ‘it is also “over 90 percent”. .

The vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Center will be produced in laboratories in China, India and Korea. Logunov explained that in the procedure for testing his active substance (based on adenovirus) “after the second dose, volunteers achieve high antibody titers.” “With just one dose good effects are obtained, but we insist that the regimen be two doses for best results,” he added.

Asked about the procedures followed by other laboratories around the world, the expert in charge of the development of Sputnik V explained that the “effectiveness” of the Russian vaccine will only be seen “in people who will not be infected. ” “We cannot know if this is the case. ours is better than the others. The evaluation of comparative efficacy is difficult at present, it can only be assessed in relation to other clinical trials. We’re betting on long-term protection, but we can’t find out until after testing. There are long term effects in our animal research. The term in humans must not be less than one year, ”he stressed.

Kirill Dmitriev, managing director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, for its acronym in English), explained that they are working “with the Argentine regulator (in reference to ANMAT)” and hopes that the entity “will approve the vaccine as soon as possible. ” “This will determine the supply that we will be able to deliver. The Phase 3 trials will end in May, but we will get preliminary efficacy data this month and we hope to get approval soon. In Russia, vaccination mass movement has already started and we believe that we will achieve the same in the Argentine population, ”he stressed.

Currently, the Russian formula is being tested on 40,000 volunteers to complete phase 3. Between the end of this year and the beginning of 2021, the government of Vladimir Putin would begin the process of mass distribution. This agreement with Russia is in addition to those that Argentina has already concluded with laboratories in different parts of the world such as Pfizer (United States), AstraZeneca (United Kingdom) and Sinopharm (China) to ensure the supply of ‘an effective vaccine against the coronavirus.

Transparency

The Russian vaccine has been questioned by the Western scientific community for its apparent lack of transparency. The delay in publishing test results raised alarms in the middle of the year. This obstacle was later overcome with the publication of the results of phases 1 and 2 in the prestigious British journal The Lancet. In this regard, Dmitriev stressed: “We will provide ANMAT with all the information on the evolution of phase 3. We want to achieve transparency, we are totally open as a country.” He then emphasized the importance of building confidence in the technology they are making. “Many are trying to attack our vaccine, but we believe in it. I have vaccinated myself before and my whole family has. We focus on achieving global access, we want to share our knowledge with all countries. Our interest is not only financial, we want to fight against the coronavirus ”, he concluded.

Cooperation

“We consider the mutual cooperation between Argentina and Russia regarding the vaccine to be very important. This dialogue between our presidents is very positive. As Alberto Fernández said, it is not necessary to politicize health, but to see it from a medical point of view ”, he stressed. “We love Argentina’s approach and are happy that they are acquiring 25 million doses. This agreement is an important step. In addition, in Russia it is already starting to massively vaccinate, we hope Argentina will achieve this as well. Their strategy is very attractive, they establish dialogues with various international centers and laboratories. Countries are more secure when they have these diversified portfolios. Argentina is a leader, it has taken the initiative by taking care of its population, ”he said, referring to the agreement Argentina made with Russia to obtain Sputnik V.

As Alberto Fernández announced last week, the Argentine government will purchase 25 million doses, which is equivalent to 12.5 million vaccines, since the program foresees two applications. The first ten million will arrive between December and January and there will be a remainder of 2.5 million that will come later.