Russia approves world’s first Covid vaccine, with Putin saying one of his daughters has had it
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia had approved the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, underlining his faith in the controversial drug by saying it had been tested on one of his daughters.
Moscow has hailed the speedy development of the vaccine as evidence of its medical prowess, but scientists have raised concerns about a lack of testing and transparency.
Speaking at a government meeting on state television, Mr Putin said the vaccine, developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, was safe.
"I know that it works quite effectively, forms strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the needed checks," he said.
Mr Putin said his daughter had a temperature of 38C on the day of the first vaccine injection, which dropped to 37C the following day. “She’s feeling well and has a high number of antibodies,” he added, without specifying which of his two daughters took part in the trials.
Moscow’s race to be the first to develop a coronavirus vaccine hit headlines last month when the UK government accused Russian hackers of targeting its own research into the area. The Kremlin has rejected the accusations.
Russian health officials said the vaccine would be offered to medics as early as this month, before being rolled out to the general population on a voluntary basis from October.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said the country had received preliminary orders for more than a billion vaccine doses from 20 countries.
The vaccine has been named “Sputnik V”, drawing comparisons to the Cold War space race.
But scientists in Russia and abroad have highlighted that the vaccine has yet to pass Phase III clinical trials, which typically take months and involve thousands of people.
Such trials, which require a certain rate of participants catching the virus to observe the vaccine's effect, are normally considered essential precursors for a vaccine to receive regulatory approval.
“This is a reckless and foolish decision. Mass vaccination with an improperly tested vaccine is unethical.” said Professor Francois Balloux of University College London’s Genetics Institute.
“Any problem with the Russian vaccination campaign would be disastrous both through its negative effects on health, but also because it would further set back the acceptance of vaccines in the population.”
“It is unclear precisely what is actually happening with the Russian vaccine,” said Dr Michael Head, a Senior Research Fellow in Global Health at the University of Southampton.
“It is vital that any vaccine roll-out has the confidence of the general public, and that there is good communication of the level of effectiveness and any likely side effects. At this point in time, there is no data on the Russian-led vaccine for the global health community to scrutinise.”
The World Health Organization said any WHO stamp of approval on a Covid-19 vaccine candidate would require a rigorous safety data review.
This week, a Russian association of multinational pharmaceutical companies also called for more tests on the drug.
More than 100 possible vaccines are being developed around the world to try to stop the Covid-19 pandemic. At least four are in final Phase III human trials, according to World Health Organization data.
Russia has officially registered almost 900,000 infections and more than 15,000 deaths from coronavirus, a lower proportion than other badly hit nations. Officials have denied suggestions they are underreporting figures.
The Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hailed Russia’s development in the vaccine and said he is ready to personally participate in any trials.
"I will tell President Putin that I have huge trust in your studies in combating Covid and I believe that the vaccine that you have produced is really good for humanity," said Mr Duterte, who has previously threatened to “shoot dead” lockdown violators in his own country.
