Russia said on Tuesday it had developed the world's first vaccine against the coronavirus, giving it a stable immunity. Despite doubts about its impact as fears about a second infection are growing around the world.
President Vladimir Putin said the vaccine
was safe and that one of his daughters had been vaccinated’ with what became
known as "Sputnik" after the Soviet satellite in the 1950s.
Putin said of the vaccines developed by
the Gamalaya Research Institute in coordination with the Moscow Ministry of
Defense, "I know that it is very effective and that it provides a stable
immunity.
Russia's Ministry of Health has announced
that the final phase of the trial, which will involve more than 2,000 people,
will begin on Wednesday.
Western scientists have previously
expressed concern about the speed of development of Russian vaccines and researchers
say they are cutting corners.
Tariq Zazarevich, of the World Health
Organization in Geneva, said he was in touch with Russian health officials, but
it was too early to seal WHO approval.
“The pre-eligibility of any vaccine will
include rigorous review and evaluation of all necessary safety and efficacy
data,” he said.
In Berlin, a spokesman for the German
Ministry of Health told the newspaper group RND that "no information is
available on the quality, effectiveness and safety of the Russian vaccine"
and that "patient safety is a priority".
- A billion doses -
Russia hopes to start production in
September and start vaccinating medical personnel soon.
Kirill Dimitriev, head of the Russian
Sovereign Asset Fund, which helped develop the vaccine, said the suspicions
about the vaccine was part of a "coordinated and carefully planned media the attack" designed to "humiliate" the country.
He said 20 foreign countries had
pre-ordered one billion doses.
The bet for the vaccine is heating up a
new outbreak of the disease in new countries around the world - even though
they have been trying to restart the lockdown and economic collapse for months.
Indonesia has announced that the third
phase of the human trial on a vaccine candidate from China's Genovak Biotech
has begun.
Phase 3 refers to experiments involving a
large number of human test subjects, which is usually the last step before
regulatory approval.
Sinovac's vaccine, also known as
coronavac, is already being tested’ on 9,000 Brazilian health workers.
The World Health Organization says 165
candidates are working on vaccines worldwide, with six reaching the third
stage.
But Michael Ryan, director of emergencies,
warned that the discovery of the vaccine would not automatically stop COVID-19.
"We have the most effective polio and
measles vaccines and we are still working hard to eradicate those diseases. You
need to be able to provide that vaccine to people who want and want that
vaccine," he said.
- Second wave 'inevitable' -
Since the virus first appeared in China
late last year, the number of confirmed infections worldwide has crossed 20.1
million, killing 737,000 people and in more than 750,000 in just a few days,
according to AFP figures.
New Zealand lasted more than 100 days on
Tuesday without locally transmitted coronavirus infections.
"We have worked hard to prevent this
from happening," said Prime Minister Jakinda Ardern. "We planned and
prepared for it."
Only 22 deaths from the coronavirus have
been reported’ in New Zealand so far, with officials repeatedly warning that a second wave is inevitable.
Bhutan, a remote Himalayan country,
announced a coronavirus lockdown on Tuesday.
In Europe, the European Union's ECDC the health agency has called on countries to re-establish some sanctions as new
cases begin to reopen.
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