Elvira Kadyrova
The well-known in academic community medical journal The Lancet has published the outcomes of the Phase III clinical trials of the Russian Covid19 vaccine Sputnik V.
According to the data revealed, the effectiveness of Sputnik V against the novel coronavirus is 91.6%. In total, about 20,000 volunteers participated in the trials, including 14,964 who received the vaccine and 4,902 – the placebo.
The essential point of the study was the participation of 2,144 volunteers at 60+age category. The oldest participant in the vaccine group was 87 years old, and in the placebo group – 84 years old. The effectiveness of the vaccine for aged group of volunteers amounted to 91.8%
An interim analysis was based on the fact that 62 of 78 confirmed Covid-19 cases were detected in the placebo group. And other 16 cases were identified in the vaccine group.
More than 98% of the volunteers developed a humoral immune response, and 100% of the volunteers have got a cellular immune response.
The level of virus-neutralizing antibodies in volunteers vaccinated with Sputnik V is 1.3-1.5 times higher than the same rate in patients with coronavirus.
As noted, the majority of negative side effects (94%) occurred in a mild form of a cold syndrome, a reaction at the injection site, headache and general weakness. Severe allergic reactions, anaphylactic shock have not been fixed at all.
The development of an immune response requires a time. In the first week after receiving the first dose, there was no difference in the level of protection against severe cases of coronavirus between the placebo and vaccine groups. During the second week after vaccination the vaccine effectiveness grew to 50%, third week – to 74.1%, and after three weeks efficacy reached 100%.
The developer of the vaccine – the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after N. F. Gamalei, run by Russian ministry of health, claims that in comparison with other analogues of high-efficient vaccines, Sputnik V is featured with some advantages.
First, the vaccine is based on a safe platform of human adenovirus vectors.
Secondly, the required storage temperature of the vaccine is +2+80C. So, it can be stored in the refrigerator, thus making easer the delivery logistics to other countries of the world.
Third, Sputnik V is affordable. The cost of one vaccination is less than US $ 10.
Sputnik V is registered in 16 countries, including Turkmenistan.
To date, only three vaccines have proved over 90% efficacy. These are Sputnik V, mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
The Sputnik V vaccine uses human adenoviruses. Adenovirus vectors are genetically modified common cold viruses that are unable to reproduce in the human body.
When the Sputnik V vaccine is used, the coronavirus itself does not enter the body as the vaccine only contains genetic information of a part of its outer protein shell, the so called “spikes” forming its crown. This completely eliminates the risk of getting infected as a result of vaccination while also causing the body to generate a stable immune response.
The use of two different vectors based on human adenoviruses of the Ad5 and Ad26 serotypes makes it possible to form a stronger protection against coronavirus compared to vaccines that use the same vector for both phases of vaccination. /// nCa, 4 February 2021