Russia's 'Sputnik V' COVID-19 vaccine shows over 91.4% efficacy as per interim trial data

The world’s first COVID-19 vaccine to be registered, Russia’s Sputnik V, has announced its efficacy to be 91.4% based on the interim analysis of the data gleaned from a stage-3 clinical trial involving 40,000 people in Russia. After Pfizer-BioNTech declared its vaccine to be 95% effective and Moderna’s vaccine's efficacy was determined to be 94.5% in early trials, Russia’s Sputnik V announcement on November 24 also came hot on the heels of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine's overall efficacy being pegged at 70.4%. 

Moreover, the preliminary data obtained by volunteers 42 days after the first dose that corresponds with 21 days after the second dose indicates that the efficacy of the vaccine above 95%. The official statement also said that the interim research will be published by the Gamaleya Center team in one of the leading international peer-reviewed medical journals after the completion of Phase III clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine. As of now, at least 40,000 volunteers are taking part in the clinical trials, out of which, 22,000 volunteers were vaccinated with the first dose and more than 19,000 volunteers with the first and second doses with no adverse events being recorded. 

The official statement said, “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).”

“Preliminary data from volunteers obtained 42 days after the first dose (corresponds with 21 days after the second dose) indicates an efficacy of the vaccine above 95%,” it added.

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Russia hails efficacy as ‘most important tool’

After facing criticism initially for racing through medical research for the sake of gaining an upper hand amid global competition, the Russian government hailed the November 24 announcement as the “most important tool” in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Russia’s health minister Mikhail Murashko said that “The data demonstrating high efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine gives us hope that we will soon obtain the most important tool in the fight against the pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection.”

In another “important milestone” in the world’s fight against the pandemic, Oxford University has announced on November 23 that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed in collaboration with AstraZeneca is 70.4% effective against the highly-infectious disease. A tentative advantage for Oxford and AstraZeneca’s vaccine is that it's far cheaper and comparatively easier to store and transport to even remote areas of the world. 

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