BackRussia Covid-19 vaccine: Over 60,000 volunteers line up in Moscow, says report
More than 700 people have been injected with the coronavirus vaccine and 'all of them are feeling good'Meanwhile, Russia on Monday reported 6,196 new coronavirus cases, the most recorded over 24 hours since July 1
PremiumAmid the race to develop and distribute vaccine against novel coronavirus, Russian government said on Sunday that over 60,000 volunteers have signed up for its first Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V in Moscow, according to a report.
"Over 60,000 people have signed up as volunteers, several thousand people have passed the required medical tests to be registered as potential candidates for carrying out the tests," Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin told reporters, according to Russian news agency TASS.
More than 700 people have been injected with the coronavirus vaccine and "all of them are feeling good," he said.
Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko told reporters earlier that the first batch of Russia's Covid-19 vaccine was likely to be delivered to all regions of the country by 14 September, according to TASS.
It had also informed 250 Moscow residents have got the dose of its Covid-19 vaccine, according to report.
The vast majority of them are in good health, the anti-coronavirus crisis centre had told reporters.
Sputnik V Covid vaccine, which is developed by Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology under the Russian Health Ministry, may be granted permission to release a batch of its vaccine for civilian use, the institute’s deputy director for research, associate member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Denis Logunov said earlier, according to a report.
On August 11, Russia became the first country to license a Covid-19 vaccine, calling it "Sputnik V" in homage to the world's first satellite, launched by the Soviet Union. But western experts have warned against its use until all internationally approved testing and regulatory steps have been taken. The vaccine is undergoing Phase 3 trials.
The vaccine produced an antibody response in all participants in early-stage trials, according to results published by The Lancet medical journal earlier that were hailed by Moscow as an answer to its critics.
The results of the two trials, conducted in June-July this year and involving 76 participants, showed 100% of participants developing antibodies to the new coronavirus and no serious side effects, The Lancet said.
However, a group of international scientists questioned results from the Lancet medical journal, saying some of the findings appeared improbable, reported Bloomberg.
The researchers flagged concerns over seemingly identical levels of antibodies in a number of study participants who were inoculated with the experimental vaccine. This and other patterns in the data present “several different points of concern," according to an open letter written by Temple University professor Enrico Bucci and signed by more than a dozen other scientists.
Meanwhile, Russia on Monday reported 6,196 new coronavirus cases, the most recorded over 24 hours since July 18, pushing its national tally to 1,109,595, the fourth largest in the world.
Authorities also reported 71 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 19,489.
With inputs from agencies
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