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Experts and world leaders continue to have divergent views on Russia’s pioneering Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, as the country moves closer to implementing a mass vaccination program in its country and exporting it abroad.
Speaking to Canadian broadcaster CBC, Ian Jones, professor of virology at the University of Reading in the UK, said the prospects for the jab were positive. “I see no reason to doubt it,” he said in remarks released on Saturday. “The first results caused consternation, but I don’t think it was because they were not valid. They were released shortly after… I think it will be a useful vaccine.
However, Italian scientist Enrico Bucci, adjunct professor of research integrity at Temple University (Philadelphia), disagreed, arguing that “The sample is too small to claim a percentage efficiency.”
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Some international experts have expressed concern about how quickly Russia became the first country in the world to approve a preventive formula against Covid-19 in August. Peter Openshaw, professor of experimental medicine at the National Heart & Lung Institute at Imperial College London, said at the time he was concerned “That the experimental vaccine is being administered to the Russian elite before it has undergone full testing in a formal clinical trial.”
The Russian authorities have struck down these allegations as “Western bias”, and the Gamaleya Center, which developed the formula, argued that the decision was made on the basis of promising data from early clinical trials, which were published in the medical journal Lancet. Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov also denied the Russian president got the blow, saying he could not accede to it sooner “Simply because he is the head of state.” Prime Minister Mishustin and Peskov himself have both previously tested positive for the virus.
Earlier this month, the creators of Sputnik V announced that it seems more effective than previously thought. According to their analysis of larger samples of people participating in trials, around 95% of those who benefit develop immunity to Covid-19. They argue that their use of a pre-existing adenovirus platform allowed them to deliver a candidate vaccine faster than the UK and US alternatives.
More than 500 million people are expected to be able to access the jab in 2021, according to the developers. Each person will need two injections, spaced over a period of several weeks, and efforts are underway to manufacture the billion doses needed.
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Negotiations are also engaged with companies around the world to increase manufacturing capacity. Earlier this week, it was announced that the vaccine would also be produced in India under a bilateral deal. Individual countries have also been faced with decisions about which vaccine candidates they choose to order. Earlier this month, Argentina announced it would procure millions of vials of Sputnik V as part of its efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. Hungary has also started importing experimental quantities of the vaccine and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which authorizes all vaccines in the EU, is considering an application for approval of the formula.
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