Russia repeats 91.4% efficacy rate in new COVID-19 vaccine data: Developers

More than 100,000 people have already been vaccinated against the disease as part of Russia's mass inoculation programme, which began in September alongside a Moscow-based human trial of the shot.

Reuters

December 14, 2020 / 20:22 IST

Russian coronavirus vaccine developers published fresh results from their trial of the Sputnik V vaccine on December 14 based on new data, and said the shot had again been found to be 91.4 percent effective in providing protection from COVID-19.

More than 100,000 people have already been vaccinated against the disease as part of Russia's mass inoculation programme, which began in September alongside a Moscow-based human trial of the shot.

The new results are based on data from 22,714 participants in the trial, and were published after 78 confirmed coronavirus cases were reported among the group, researchers at the Gamaleya Institute said in a statement made on Monday with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is marketing the shot abroad.

Of the 78 cases, 62 occurred among participants who received a placebo, the researchers said, adding that in the trial overall the ratio of those who received the placebo to those who were vaccinated was 1 to 3.

Twenty of the infected participants who received a placebo suffered severe symptoms of COVID-19, the statement said. There were no severe cases of the disease among the 16 vaccinated trial participants, the statement said.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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