Russia's COVID-19 vaccine to be made available for other countries by November

By Lokmat English Desk | Published: August 13, 2020 10:53 AM2020-08-13T10:53:45+5:302020-08-13T10:53:45+5:30

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Russia's coronavirus vaccine will be gradually rolled out to high-risk people before a mass vaccination of Russians begins in October, the head of the group funding the research said on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the approval of a coronavirus vaccine for use on Tuesday, claiming it as a "world first," amid continued concern and unanswered questions over its safety and effectiveness.

Speaking to CNN's Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Tuesday, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) head Kirill Dmietriev said "safety is at the core of the vaccine."

"We know the technology works and we will publish the data in August and September to demonstrate that," Dmietriev said.

Developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute, the vaccine has yet to go through crucial Phase 3 trials in which it would be administered to thousands of people.

Russia hasn't released any scientific data on its testing and CNN is unable to verify the vaccine's claimed safety or effectiveness.

"The rollout in Russia will be very gradual. We are not going to give it to 10 million people tomorrow," Dmietriev said, adding that frontline medical workers and people who are at high risk of contracting the coronavirus will be first in line to voluntarily receive the vaccine.

Following a planned mass rollout among Russians in October, Dmietriev said the vaccine will be made available to other countries around November. He claimed they have already received pre-orders for a billion doses of the vaccine. Brazil's Parana state is set to sign a cooperation agreement for testing the vaccine, according to a statement from the Russian Embassy.

"Brazil is aware of all the vaccine studies under development and guarantees that, as soon as it has access to a vaccine that is proven to be effective against Covid-19, Brazilians will have access to it," the Brazil Health Ministry told CNN on Wednesday.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has also backed Russia's Covid-19 studies, saying in a Monday news briefing that he would volunteer to take the first dose of the vaccine in public, according to CNN affiliate, CNN Philippines. His comments came after Moscow offered to supply the vaccine to the Philippines. The Philippine Department of Health reportedly said its officials were in talks with the RDIF over doses and setting up manufacturing laboratories in the Philippines. But any vaccine would need to go through local processes and Philippine Food and Drug Administration approval, the President said, according to CNN Philippines.