Covid-19: WHO sceptical as Russia claims first coronavirus vaccine

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Covid-19, WHO, sceptical, Russia, claims, first coronavirus vaccine,

Moscow - Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that clinical trials of the vaccine involving several thousand participants would continue.

By AFP

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Published: Tue 11 Aug 2020, 10:00 PM

Last updated: Wed 12 Aug 2020, 1:12 AM

Russia claimed on Tuesday it has developed the world's first vaccine offering "sustainable immunity" against the coronavirus, as the pandemic marked another bleak milestone with 20 million infections globally.
Western scientists have raised concerns about the speed with which Russia has developed the vaccine, suggesting that researchers might be cutting corners.
And the World Health Organisation on Tuesday warned that any approval of the Russian vaccine would require rigorous review of data to show its safety and efficacy.
But President Vladimir Putin said that one of his own daughters had received the inoculation, dubbed 'Sputnik' after the pioneering 1950s Soviet satellite.
"I know that it is quite effective, that it gives sustainable immunity," Putin said of the vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute in coordination with Moscow's defence ministry.
And Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that clinical trials of the vaccine involving several thousand participants would continue.
Russia hopes to begin production in September and start vaccinating medical staff immediately afterwards.
Kirill Dmitriyev, the head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund that helped develop the vaccine, said the doubts about the vaccine were part of "coordinated and carefully orchestrated media attacks" designed to "discredit" the country. He said that 20 foreign countries have pre-ordered over a billion doses.


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