Study: Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine Appears Safe, Effective
2021-02-03
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1Russian scientists say the country's Sputnik V vaccine appears safe and effective against COVID-19.
2The news will help sell the vaccine to other countries in the race against the pandemic.
3Researchers say the vaccine is about 91 percent effective based on a trial involving about 20,000 people in Russia.
4It appears to prevent people who have received the shot from becoming ill with COVID-19.
5It remains unclear, however, if Sputnik V can stop the virus from spreading.
6The study was first announced last December.
7It was published Tuesday in the British medical paper The Lancet.
8Scientists who are not linked to the research have criticized Russian efforts to produce a COVID-19 vaccine.
9They said it was made and released in a hurry without any information.
10Last August, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on national television that Russia became the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine.
11He said one of his daughters had already received the two shots.
12At the time, the vaccine had only been tested on less than 50 people.
13"But the outcome reported here is clear," British scientists Ian Jones and Polly Roy wrote about the study.
14They said it is another vaccine to "join the fight" against the coronavirus.
15Kirill Dmitriev is head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, or RDIF, the organization that paid for the vaccine's development.
16"Russia was right from the very beginning," he said.
17The fund says Sputnik V has been approved for emergency use in more than 12 other countries.
18They include the former Soviet republics of Belarus, Armenia and Turkmenistan; Latin American nations including Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela; African nations such as Algeria as well as Serbia, Iran, Palestine and United Arab Emirates.
19An RDIF spokesman told The Associated Press that more than 50 countries have requested to buy 2.4 billion doses.
20The latest study is based on research involving about 20,000 people over 18 at hospitals in Moscow between September and November.
21About 75 percent of the people received two shots of the vaccine 21 days apart and the rest got a placebo - a shot with an inactive substance.
22Serious side effects were rare in both groups.
23Only four deaths were reported, although none were considered to come from the vaccine.
24The study included more than 2,100 people over age 60 and the vaccine appeared to be about 92 percent effective in them.
25The research is continuing.
26But Russia's Health Ministry said in December it was cutting the size of the study from the planned 40,000 subjects to about 31,000 because some people left the study.
27The first shot of the Russian vaccine uses a common cold-causing adenovirus to carry genes that prepare the human body to fight against COVID-19.
28That is similar to the two-shot vaccine developed by Britain's Oxford University-AstraZeneca.
29Unlike the British vaccine, Sputnik V uses a different version of adenovirus for its second shot.
30Alexander Edwards is an associate professor in biomedical technology at Britain's University of Reading.
31He said the two different versions of adenovirus led to higher immune response against the coronavirus.
32Edwards is not connected to the Russian study.
33Polly Roy is a professor of virology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
34She said there should no longer be any concerns about the Russian vaccine.
35She said the high level of antibodies made by Sputnik V suggest that it could also protect against some of the new COVID-19 variants.
36But more studies are needed to confirm that.
37"Initially, I had some concerns about what they were saying and thought they were getting too much publicity, but the data are now very strong," Roy said.
38Last month, Putin ordered a large vaccination campaign to begin in Russia.
39I'm Susan Shand.
1Russian scientists say the country's Sputnik V vaccine appears safe and effective against COVID-19. The news will help sell the vaccine to other countries in the race against the pandemic. 2Researchers say the vaccine is about 91 percent effective based on a trial involving about 20,000 people in Russia. It appears to prevent people who have received the shot from becoming ill with COVID-19. It remains unclear, however, if Sputnik V can stop the virus from spreading. 3The study was first announced last December. It was published Tuesday in the British medical paper The Lancet. 4Scientists who are not linked to the research have criticized Russian efforts to produce a COVID-19 vaccine. They said it was made and released in a hurry without any information. 5Last August, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on national television that Russia became the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine. He said one of his daughters had already received the two shots. At the time, the vaccine had only been tested on less than 50 people. 6"But the outcome reported here is clear," British scientists Ian Jones and Polly Roy wrote about the study. They said it is another vaccine to "join the fight" against the coronavirus. 7Kirill Dmitriev is head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, or RDIF, the organization that paid for the vaccine's development. 8"Russia was right from the very beginning," he said. 9The fund says Sputnik V has been approved for emergency use in more than 12 other countries. They include the former Soviet republics of Belarus, Armenia and Turkmenistan; Latin American nations including Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela; African nations such as Algeria as well as Serbia, Iran, Palestine and United Arab Emirates. 10An RDIF spokesman told The Associated Press that more than 50 countries have requested to buy 2.4 billion doses. 11The vaccine study 12The latest study is based on research involving about 20,000 people over 18 at hospitals in Moscow between September and November. About 75 percent of the people received two shots of the vaccine 21 days apart and the rest got a placebo - a shot with an inactive substance. 13Serious side effects were rare in both groups. Only four deaths were reported, although none were considered to come from the vaccine. 14The study included more than 2,100 people over age 60 and the vaccine appeared to be about 92 percent effective in them. The research is continuing. But Russia's Health Ministry said in December it was cutting the size of the study from the planned 40,000 subjects to about 31,000 because some people left the study. 15The first shot of the Russian vaccine uses a common cold-causing adenovirus to carry genes that prepare the human body to fight against COVID-19. That is similar to the two-shot vaccine developed by Britain's Oxford University-AstraZeneca. 16Unlike the British vaccine, Sputnik V uses a different version of adenovirus for its second shot. 17Alexander Edwards is an associate professor in biomedical technology at Britain's University of Reading. He said the two different versions of adenovirus led to higher immune response against the coronavirus. Edwards is not connected to the Russian study. 18Polly Roy is a professor of virology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She said there should no longer be any concerns about the Russian vaccine. 19She said the high level of antibodies made by Sputnik V suggest that it could also protect against some of the new COVID-19 variants. But more studies are needed to confirm that. 20"Initially, I had some concerns about what they were saying and thought they were getting too much publicity, but the data are now very strong," Roy said. 21Last month, Putin ordered a large vaccination campaign to begin in Russia. 22I'm Susan Shand. 23The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 24_________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26dose - n. the amount of medication a person take at one time 27placebo - n. a pill without medicine used in medical tests 28immune - adj. resistant to an infection 29variant - n. a different form of something 30initially - adv. to begin with 31publicity - n. notice or attention given to someone or something by the media 32We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.