Russian President Putin can't join Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine trial, Kremlin clarifies why

Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot volunteer in the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine trials, an official from Kremlin said on Tuesday, November 24. Last week Putin informed his fellow world leaders that both of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective including Sputnik V which he campaigned as the world’s first inoculation against the disease.

'The president can’t use an uncertified vaccine'

According to Bloomberg reports, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is yet to begin the widespread vaccination and Putin, being the head of state, can’t take part in vaccination as a volunteer. Peskov was replying to the reporters who asked if Putin had been inoculated. The 68-year-old leader falls under the higher risk category due to his age, the report further said. 

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Putin had announced the registration of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in August and a second inoculation was approved in October, even as Phase 3 trials to establish safety and efficacy of the drug are still underway. Russia so far has the world’s fifth-highest number of COVID-19 cases globally and passed the 2 million mark last week.

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Sputnik V shows over 91.4% Efficacy

Meanwhile, Sputnik V’s developers on Tuesday announced that initial testing showed it was 91.4% effective in preventing the coronavirus infections based on the interim analysis of the data gathered from a stage-3 clinical trial involving 40,000 people in Russia. 

"The efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine is 91.4%, based on the second interim analysis of data obtained 28 days after administering the first dose (7 days after the second dose)," the official statement said. The preliminary data from volunteers obtained 42 days after the first dose (corresponds with 21 days after the second dose) indicates the efficacy of the vaccine above 95% it added.

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Sputnik V's to cost less than $20

Furthermore, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has announced that Sputnik V will cost less than $10 for international markets starting from February 2021. However, being a two-dose vaccine, the total amount comes at less than $20 globally. The statement said that the vaccine will be two or more times cheaper than foreign vaccines based on mRNA technology with similar efficacy rates. Also, for Russian people, the vaccine will be free of charge. 

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