Published 08:11 IST, July 30th 2020
Russia aims to approve COVID-19 vaccine in August irrespective of safety concerns: Reports
The Russian COVID-19 vaccine has been developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute and is likely to be approved on or before 10 August.
Russia is all set to approve its COVID-19 vaccine for public use in less than two weeks despite concerns about its safety, international media reported. In that case, Russia will become the first country in the world to launch a vaccine against the novel coronavirus that has killed over 6.5 lakh people worldwide.
According to the reports, the Russian COVID-19 vaccine has been developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute and is likely to be approved on or before 10 August.
Vaccine to be cleared for public use
As per reports, the vaccine will be cleared for public use with the frontline health workers getting the first access. However, concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine continue to loom. Reports state that unlike other front-runner vaccine candidates, which are in the third phase of human trials, the Russian vaccine candidate is yet to complete its second phase of testing.
The Russian vaccine developers are planning to complete the second phase by 3 August, and will then conduct the third phase of testing around the same time, as per reports. The urgent push for a vaccine reportedly comes amid political pressure from the Kremlin, which is keen to portray Russia as a global scientific force.
On the other hand, research has proven that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine can induce a robust immune response and prevent the coronavirus from replicating in the noses and lungs of monkeys, indicating that it could work on humans too.
In contrast, the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford did not give the same results. However, it still prevented the virus from getting in the monkey’s lungs and 'making them really sick'.
Image Credits: PTI
Updated 08:11 IST, July 30th 2020