Russia's vaccine roll-out draws wary response

While excitement and enthusiasm greeted the Western-developed coronavirus vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, the Russian-made serum named "Sputnik V" has received a mixed response, with reports of empty Moscow clinics that offered the shot to health care workers and teachers — the first members of the public designated to receive it.

Kremlin officials and state-controlled media touted the "Sputnik V" vaccine as a major achievement after it was approved on 11 August, but among Russians, hope that the shot would reverse the course of the COVID-19 crisis has become mixed with wariness and scepticism, reflecting concerns about how it was rushed out while still in its late-stage testing to ensure its effectiveness and safety.

Russia faced international criticism for approving a vaccine that hasn't completed advanced trials among tens of thousands of people, and experts both at home and abroad warned against its wider use until the studies are completed.

"Before a medical product can be used, it should be more or less well-proven," said Dr Alexei Erlikh, Head of Cardiac ICU in the Moscow Hospital No. 29.

"As much as its developers say that it's a good product, as much as the president of the country says that it's a good product, we have to get first solid data of its validity that is published in accordance with minimal requirements for scientific publications," he added.

Despite those warnings, authorities started offering it to certain high-risk groups, such as front-line medical workers, within weeks of approval.

Alexander Gintsburg, head of the Gamaleya Institute that developed the vaccine, said last week over 150,000 Russians have had the jab.

After Britain announced on December 2 it had approved a vaccine developed by drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech, President Vladimir Putin told authorities to start a large-scale inoculation campaign, a sign of Moscow's eagerness to be at the front of the race against the pandemic.

Russia approved its vaccine after it was tested on only a few dozen people, touting it as "the first in the world" to receive a go-ahead.

Developers named it "Sputnik V," a reference to the Soviet Union's 1957 launch of the world's first satellite during the Cold War.

More than just national pride is at stake. Russia has recorded more than 2.7 million cases of COVID-19 and over 48,000 deaths, and it wants to avoid another damaging lockdown of its economy.

On December 2, Putin cited a target of over 2 million doses in the coming days.

Despite such a limited supply for a nation of 146 million, Moscow and its surrounding region immediately widened who was eligible for it.

Shots are free to everyone in medical or educational facilities, both state and private, as well as social and municipal workers.

On Monday, availability expanded to those in the retail and service sectors, and those in the arts.

Unlike in other country's where the first shots are going to the elderly, "Sputnik V" is being given to those aged 18 to 60 who don't have chronic illnesses and aren't pregnant or breastfeeding.

Its developers have said study data suggests the vaccine was 91.4% effective, a conclusion based on 78 infections among nearly 23,000 participants.

That's fewer cases than Western drugmakers have accumulated during final testing before analyzing their candidates' efficacy.

A poll conducted in October by the Levada Center, Russia's top independent pollster, showed that 59% of Russians were unwilling to get the shots even if offered for free.

Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva of the Alliance of Doctors received reports of medics being forced to get shots of the vaccine.

Some medical workers and teachers interviewed by The Associated Press expressed scepticism about the vaccine because it hasn't been fully tested.

Dzhamilya Kryazheva, a teacher in Krasnogorsk near Moscow, said she didn't trust it enough to get the shot.

"I don't intend to experiment on my body," she said

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 6,000 people have received the shots in the first five days of vaccinations launched on December 5,  but some media reports about the first days of the Moscow campaign showed empty clinics and medical workers offering the shots to anyone who walked in.

In some instances, this was because the vaccine must be stored at -18 degrees Celsius (-0.4 degrees Fahrenheit), and each vial contains five doses.

Once defrosted, it must be administered within two hours or discarded.

The rollout outside Moscow and the surrounding region appeared to go much slower, with Health Minister Mikhail Murashko declaring that all regions started the vaccination on December 15.

Media reports suggested there may be problems with scaling up the manufacture and distribution of "Sputnik V".

It uses two different adenovirus vectors for the two-shot regimen, which complicates production.

In addition, low-temperature storage and transport make it harder to move across the vast country.

There also were confusing signals about whether recipients should consume alcohol.

Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said those getting vaccinated should take all necessary precautions for 42 days after the first jab — the time it takes to develop a proper immune response — and refrain from drinking three days before and after the shots.

Several medical workers in Siberia who received the vaccine later reported contracting the virus, but health officials said not enough time had passed for them to develop the antibodies.

Dr Yevgenia Alexeyeva in the Siberian city of Tomsk tested positive for the virus 12 days after her second shot.

Alexeyeva said she wasn't surprised by the result and that it didn't shake her confidence in the vaccine.

"The vaccine doesn't guarantee that the person wouldn't get infected. But it should protect us from developing a severe case," Alexeyeva said.

(Image: AP)