Russia says its COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V is 92% effective, no adverse events identified

While the global race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine has intensified, Russia has said on November 11 that it’s Sputnik V is 92% effective in protecting people from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the highly-infectious disease. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement that the interim results are based on the data collected from at least 16,000 trial participants who received both shots of its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine. While Russia became the first country in August to register a vaccine for the disease that has rocked the world since the beginning of 2020, Pfizer-BioNTech’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine was being hailed worldwide for being 90% effective.

Putin had also touted the efficacy of its Sputnik V but RDIF said on November 11 that 40,000 volunteers are currently part of the phase 3 trials, out of which at least 20,000 have been vaccinated with the first dose and over 16,000 have completed both doses. The 92% efficacy of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine is based on the data analysis 21 days after all the volunteers receive their first injection. Moreover, the country’s wealth fund also said that during the tests, “no unexpected adverse events were identified” but monitoring is still ongoing.  

However, the chances of contracting COVID-19 among people who were injected with Sputnik V were 92% lower among all the people vaccinated. RDIF also said that currently, the phase 3 trials are taking place in “Republic of Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and a number of other countries, as well as phase II-III in India, have also been approved and are being conducted.”

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Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shows 90% efficacy

While the novel coronavirus infections recently passed the grim milestone of 50 million cases, American pharmaceutical company Pfizer said on November 9 that the interim analysis of its vaccine produced along with German partner BioNTech group has shown promising results, meaning it is on track to file an emergency use application with American regulators as early as later this month. 

However, the November 9 announcement does not imply that the mRNA-based vaccine called BNT162b2, is imminent. The results are based on the interim analysis which considered at least 94 infections in a study that had enrolled at least 44,000 people in six nations including the United States with fewer than nine of them who caught the disease were also given the dose.

In a bid to confirm the similar level of efficacy, Pfizer has also said that it would continue its trial until there are 164 COVID-19 cases among volunteers. It is also the same number that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed as enough to determine how efficient the vaccine is. The data is yet to be reviewed by peers and the company has assured to publish it once it is completed. 

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