Vaccine pace of advance defended

MOSCOW: Russia plans to share preliminary results of its Covid19 vaccine trial based on the first six weeks of monitoring participants, raising the tempo in an already frenzied global race to end the pandemic.

Alexander Gintsburg, head of the Gamaleya Institute that produced the Sputnik V vaccine, said the pace of its development was necessary under the ‘‘wartime’’ conditions of a pandemic but no corners were being cut.

Russia has pushed ahead with its potential Covid19 vaccine at top speed with mass public vaccinations alongside the main human trial, raising concerns among some observers it is prioritising national prestige over solid science and safety.

‘‘People are dying just like during a war,’’ Gintsburg said.

‘‘But this fasttracked pace is not synonymous, as some media have suggested, with corners being cut. No way.’’

He said his team had been set a tight deadline to produce a vaccine but all the guidelines for testing Sputnik V’s safety and efficacy had been followed.

The plan to publish interim results based on the first 42 days of monitoring volunteers means Russia has a high chance of becoming the first worldwide to announce any data from a finalstage trial, known as Phase III.

The first of a group of 5000 volunteers was vaccinated on September 9, meaning interim results could be issued some time after October 21.

Gintsburg said volunteers would be monitored for 180 days after the last of 40,000 participants was vaccinated. Six months on, his team would tally up final results and publish them in an international journal.

In parallel with the trial, Russia began inoculating members of the general public considered at high risk on September 8. About 400 people had been inoculated so far, the health ministry said.

Gintsburg said no serious sideeffects had been reported during the Phase III trial so far, while minor, anticipated sideeffects had occurred among 14% to 15% of the volunteers. A quarter of the participants receive a placebo.

The number of coronavirus deaths worldwide passed one million yesterday. — Reuters