TOPLINE
Russia’s medics will receive doses of the country’s coronavirus vaccine in two weeks, Reuters reported Wednesday, but because Russia doesn’t impose the same standards for proving the shots are safe and effective, top U.S. health officials remain skeptical that the vaccine actually works without harming the vaccinated.
KEY FACTS
Russia said Wednesday that shots will be administered to some medics in two weeks, after President Vladimir Putin announced the vaccine was granted regulatory approval Tuesday, paving the way for Russia’s general population to receive the shots.
The Russian vaccine, nicknamed “Sputnik-V,” was tested for less than two months before gaining approval, setting off alarms among experts who worry that it’s not safe.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, expressed doubts about Russia’s vaccine in an interview with ABC News Tuesday.
“Having a vaccine . . . and proving that a vaccine is safe and effective are two different things,” Fauci said, adding that the U.S. could copy Russia by giving out one of the many vaccines being pursued here “if we wanted to take the chance of hurting a lot of people, or giving them something that doesn’t work.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told CBS News from his diplomatic visit to Taiwan that efforts to find a vaccine are “not a race to be first,” and the U.S. process will produce a “gold-standard, safe and effective vaccine.”
Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko pushed back Wednesday, telling Reuters, “It seems our foreign colleagues are sensing the specific competitive advantages of the Russian drug and are trying to express opinions that in our opinion are completely groundless.”
Crucial quote
“We have a way of doing things in this country in that we care about safety,” Fauci said Tuesday. He stressed that vaccine announcements from Russia—as well as China—should be taken with a grain of salt, given their different standards for proving a vaccine’s effectiveness.
Big number
Over 135. That’s how many coronavirus vaccines are in the works around the world, according to a New York Times tracker. Just eight of those are in phase 3 trials, which determine a vaccine’s safety and efficacy in a large number of human recipients.
Key background
Further diminishing Russia’s claims that its vaccine is safe and effective is the lack of clinical trial data to back them up. Without that data, scientists say there’s no way of knowing whether (or how) the vaccine works or possible side effects and have concerns that an unproven shot could hurt a large number of people. According to the Times, phase 3 trials can sometimes reveal side effects not seen in earlier trials. Only 10% of clinical trials result in success, Reuters reported. Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, which specializes in vaccine research, said Wednesday that clinical trial data will be published after a review by the country’s experts.
Further reading
Experts Raise Alarm As Putin Says Russia Has Approved World’s First Covid-19 Vaccine (Forbes)
Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker (New York Times)
