Five months into the global outbreak the world is racing against time to prepare a vaccine for coronavirus. Trials are underway in laboratories across the world with several companies and governments doubling their efforts to find a permanent cure for the deadly virus. The global race to develop the first COVID-19 vaccine has enormous reward for coming first. Russia is reportedly going ahead with its plan to register the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine on august 12 before it starts mass vaccination in October, despite safety concern raised from several quarters, including the WHO. The vaccine that the country is planning to register this week has been jointly developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute and the Russian defence ministry. Gamaleya research institute, a state research facility in Moscow, had completed clinical trials of the vaccine. Russia would vaccinate teachers and doctors first and then prepare a mass vaccination program in October. The potential vaccine is only in the early stages of human trials and may not be safe, according to WHO.
The World Heath Organization warned the Russian government to follow the established guideline for producing safe and effective vaccine. The WHO has been tracking various COVID-19 candidates and has made no mention of the vaccine clearing all three phases of human trials. It also stepped in and urged the country to follow the established guideline to produce safe and effective vaccine. According to Russia’s health ministry, the clinical trial data and other documents of the vaccine are currently under expert review. However the decision on registration will be made based on its result. Alexander Gintsburg, director of Gamaleya research institute, told the state news agency Sputnik news, that the vaccine used to inanimate particles and it does not cause harm to anyone. Russian president Vladimir Put in has disclose that his own daughter is among those who were vaccinated against viruses. Meanwhile, the industrial production of the vaccine is likely to begin in September, after which mass vaccination campaign is going to start across the country in October. Gamaleya Institute is working on serial production with three enterprises with facilities in Vladimir, Yaroslavl and Moscow regions, those are Generium, R- Pharma and Binnopharm. While no exact numbers were given, By 2021, Russian companies will produce ‘several million doses’ of the Gamaleya national research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology vaccine. Russia is also preparing its second vaccine, which is being developed by the Vector state research center of Virology and Biotechnology of the Federal service for surveillance on consumer rights protection and human wellbeing recently announced that they will begin mass production of the vaccine in November.Major developments has been taking place across the globe for generating COVID-19 vaccine. India, Russia, US, UK, are fast tracking their processes to develop a vaccine for the virus. US, Western Europe and China have all set up research programs and have supply chains for COVID-19 vaccine production. India has also developed its first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine ” covaxin” got a nod from the AIIMS ethics committee. Also the Chinese company Sinovac biotech have reached 3rd stage of trial. In UK, vaccine developed by Oxford university and Imperial college are in the second stage of human trial. US Biotech firm’s COVID-19 vaccine produced antibodies to the coronavirus in all patients tested in an initial safety trial. Eight of the nearly two dozen potential vaccines in various stages of human testing worldwide.
Priya Singh@ Samacharline