GUINEA PIGSKI
Putin claims Russia has world’s first coronavirus vaccine named Sputnik V – and says his own DAUGHTER has been given it
VLADIMIR Putin has claimed Russia now has the world's first coronavirus vaccine and that his own daughter has already been given it.
The country's health ministry says the jab - named Sputnik V after the Russian crafts launched during the Space Race - will provide immunity for two years.
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But leading scientists slammed Putin for his "recklish and foolish" claim.
The jab is still in the final stages of trials to test whether it is effective and safe, but the announcement could be a step towards rolling out a mass vaccination program.
Russia has said it plans to produce 30million doses inside the country before the end of the year, and that it could also produce up to 170million doses abroad.
The first human trial of the vaccine, a month-long test involving 38 people, ended in mid-July, with researchers concluding it was safe to use and produced an immune response, although the strength of that response was not clear.
The vaccine will be marketed abroad as Sputnik V, a reference to crafts launch by Russia during the Space Race, including the first ever satellite, and to what Moscow views as its victory in becoming the first country to approve a vaccine.
Speaking at a meeting with members of his government, President Putin said: "As far as I know, a vaccine against a new coronavirus infection has been registered this morning, for the first time in the world.
"I know that it works quite effectively, it forms a stable immunity and, I repeat, has passed all the necessary checks.
“One of my daughters got herself this shot. I think in this sense, she took part in the experiment."
Deputy Prime Minister Golikova has also said that vaccination of medical workers will begin this month.
The vaccine's registration certificate said it is set to enter civilian circulation on January 1 2021, reported.
Putin has two daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, from his former marriage.
It is not known which of the daughters purportedly received the vaccine, but Maria, 35, works as a medical researcher, specialising in dwarfism.
'PROBLEMATIC AT BEST'
Recent months have seen countries around the world taking part in a global race to produce a vaccine, seen as a necessary step on the path towards easing lockdowns.
Russian officials have claimed that the vaccine was delivered so quickly because it is a "copycat" of one developed for the Ebola virus five years ago, but concerns have been raised about whether established pharmaceutical practice has been followed.
Similar jabs, such as the one being developed in Oxford, are still undergoing so-called phase-three clinical trials, a stage that has been skipped in Russia, reported.
Speaking recently, Dr Anthony Fauci, the White Houses top coronavirus advisor, said: “I do hope that the Chinese and the Russians are actually testing the vaccine before they are administering it to anyone.
“Claims of having a vaccine ready to distribute before you do testing, I think, is problematic at best.”
Scientists have also blasted the claims saying "unethical" and an "improperly tested vaccine" could be "disastrous" for public health.
Others warned that there was "no data" to tell whether the Russian vaccine was effective.
Prof Francois Balloux, a biologist at University College London, called Putin's move "reckless and foolish" and said that "vaccination with an improperly tested vaccine is unethical".
He said: "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."
SAFETY FIRST IS WAY FORWARD
VACCINE experts in Britain yesterday warned that Russia should focus on safety — not flag-waving.
Professor Danny Altmann, of Imperial College London, said: “The collateral damage from any vaccine that was less than safe and effective would exacerbate our problems. We are all in this together.”
The Wellcome Trust’s Mike Turner said: “Covid-19 is the greatest vaccine challenge in history but speed should not compromise safety.”
Southampton University’s Dr Michael Head added: “Any vaccine must have the public’s confidence.”
Dr Michael Head, a global health researcher at the University of Southampton, said: "It is unclear precisely what is actually happening with the Russian vaccine.
"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."
Professor Keith Neal, an epidemiologist at the University of Nottingham, said: "It is not possible to know if the Russian vaccine has been shown to be effective without submission of scientific papers for analysis and then there may be problems on data quality."
Reports suggest the Chinese government has also begun providing doses of a vaccine to members of its military before full safety testing has been completed.
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Kirill Dmitriev is the CEO of the Russian government's Direct Investment Fund, which has financed the trials.
Speaking to NBC, he said: “The benefit [of our vaccine] versus other vaccine platforms is that while they’re using technology that has never, ever received regulatory approval, Russia is using technology that has previously received regulatory approval."
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