World Challenges Russian “Anti-COVID” Vaccine

Vladimir Putin announced the creation of the world’s first vaccine against COVID-19, which he had tested on his daughter. However, the international community reacted skeptically to the news.

The Counselor of the US President Kellyanne Conway told Fox News that the Russian vaccine did not pass all the necessary tests. “The United States has six potential vaccines on the third stage of development. But Russia doesn’t seem to have even reached that point. The United States and Russia have different standards for vaccine development. In the United States, they are more severe,” said Conway.

Medical experts from Germany also expressed doubts about the Russian vaccine against COVID-19. For example, a spokesman for the German Ministry of Health said that there is no information about the quality, efficacy and safety of the Russian vaccine. “A positive balance of benefits and risks for the vaccine must be demonstrated before it can be applicable on a large scale,” he said.

The German ministry also stated that they did not negotiate with the Russian authorities regarding this. There is a lack of transparency in the issue of vaccine approval in Russia and a lack of data on the safety and efficiency of clinical trials on several thousand volunteers according to preliminary information. Therefore, one should consider the approval of a new vaccine with caution.

WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic stressed, “All the data about the new Russian coronavirus vaccine safety and efficiency must be tested thoroughly.”

Natalia Tolub