In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the nation's Health Ministry had approved the world's first vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Yet, the news was met with more confusion than celebration from the global scientific community due to the lack of data provided by Russia that proves that the vaccine is safe and effective for widespread use.
"As far as I know, a vaccine against a new coronavirus infection has been registered this morning, for the first time in the world," Putin stated in a meeting with members of the government, quoted by the Russian news publication RIA Novosti. "Although I know that it works quite effectively, it forms a stable immunity and, I repeat, has passed all the necessary checks."
The vaccine, developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute alongside Russia's Defense Ministry, was endorsed by Putin, with the president proclaiming that one of his daughters has already taken the vaccine and has produced high antibody levels with minimal side effects. But, the vaccine has not completed an extensive late-stage clinical trial with at least 30,000 participants that the global scientific community considers to be the standard to determine if a vaccine is safe and effective for use within a population.
The vaccine was named "Sputnik V" in homage to the world's first satellite launched by the Soviet Union during the Cold War era Space Race. Its method is similar to AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) and Oxford University's potential candidate, consisting of two doses of a modified common cold virus that carries the genes for the "spike" protein on SARS-CoV-2, according to the Associated Press. The vaccine is expected to ready the immune system to eventually attack a coronavirus infection by building antibodies against it beforehand, but only has been tested in humans for about two months.
Russian health officials stated that the vaccine will be first administered to medical workers, and then teachers within the coming weeks. A mass deployment throughout Russia can take place as early as October. Meanwhile, Russia will begin its late-stage clinical trial of the vaccine on Wednesday, which will include thousands of volunteers from countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines.
The World Health Organization disclosed on Tuesday that the agency and Russian health authorities have entered discussions for the vaccine to be potentially prequalified for use as a COVID-19 vaccine.
"We are in close contact with Russian health authorities and discussions are ongoing with respect to possible WHO prequalification of the vaccine, but again prequalification of any vaccine includes the rigorous review and assessment of all required safety and efficacy data," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told a United Nations briefing in Geneva, quoted by Reuters.
Currently, more than 100 potential vaccines for the novel coronavirus are being developed around the world.
U.S. Vaccine Update
President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States has reached a deal with Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) for 100 million does of its potential coronavirus vaccine upon its approval from standard regulators. Moderna stated that the deal is worth $1.53 billion and and will give the U.S. the option to purchase up to 400 million additional doses.
"We are investing in the development and manufacture of the top six vaccine candidates to ensure rapid delivery. The military is ready to go, they're ready to deliver a vaccine to Americans as soon as one is fully approved by the [Food and Drug Administration] and we're very close to that approval," Trump stated during a Tuesday White House press conference.