In the case of CoviVac, the virus has been inactivated so that its genetic material cannot infect cells or replicate but can still trigger an immune response. Russia's CoviVac is what's known as a whole virus vaccine - it includes the spike proteins on the outside of the viral envelope (its shell, as it were) and its genetic material on the inside. Sometimes, Russia's CoviVac is also spelled with a hyphen. To confuse matters, an American developer, Codagenix, is working on a COVID-19 vaccine of its own with a similar name, Covi-Vac (notice the hyphen). But beyond that there is no mention of it at, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the WHO's vaccine tracker. The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society of the USA lists CoviVac as an inactivated vaccine. Russian COVID-19 vaccine CoviVac is listed as an inactivated vaccine Image: Chumakov/dpa/picture alliance We know that CoviVac is developed by the Chumakov Centre, a branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. There is little or no detail on CoviVac via international or verified sources. Russian authorities claimed it was 100% effective in very early trials. Īs of March 1, the World Health Organization (WHO) had yet to receive an Expression of Interest (EOI) from EpiVacCorona's developers, "Vector," to enable WHO experts to evaluate their vaccine.ĮpiVacCorona can be stored in standard refrigerators. The embassy says, "No," not until the European Medicines Agency allows it. The vaccine's lack of approval has been highlighted by the Russian Embassy in Germany, where it appears people have been asking whether they can get a Russian vaccine. It's not approved for use in any other country, apart from Turkmenistan, according to a report by the state-run Turkmenistan State News Agency (TDH). It has passed phase 1 and phase 2 trials and been approved in Russia. Russian COVID-19 vaccine EpiVacCorona relies on a chemically synthesized antigen Image: Rospotrebnadzor /Tass/dpa/picture alliance According to, a resource provided by the US National Library of Medicine, EpiVacCorona trials are ongoing, with results expected no sooner than May 2021. The antigen is a substance that causes the human immune system to produce antibodies against a virus. The EpiVacCorona vaccine relies on a chemically synthesized antigen - it does not contain the live virus. There are reports of about 20 Russian COVID-19 vaccines in development, including Mir-19, which recently completed the first stage of preclinical trials at Russia's Federal Medical Biological Agency (FMBA). Neither have gone through phase 3 trials.Īnd there will be more like them. Russia approved its second COVID-19 vaccine, EpiVacCorona, in October 2020 and in February 2021 it approved CoviVac. So, there's still a lot of work to be done with the Russian vaccines. Russia started its vaccination campaign in mid-January, with centers even in department stores, as here Image: Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo/picture allianceĭuring the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been possible for developers to conduct phase 2 and 3 trials in parallel to speed up the process and meet the demands of the global emergency.īut even after phase 3, trials do continue : Phase 4 trials are used to test a drug or vaccine on a much wider population over a longer time frame. All approved before phase 3 trialsĪ vaccine or drug would normally - and perhaps a pandemic is not normal - be released for use on the general public only after phase 3 clinical trials had been conducted, completed and verified by independent researchers. It was only then, after approval by Russian authorities, that large-scale clinical trials for the vaccine involving over 40,000 people took place. The country became the first in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine - Sputnik V - in early August 2020. And it appears to be pushing three homegrown vaccines to meet that goal at all costs.Īll three of those vaccines have been approved prior to completing large-scale phase 3 clinical trials - an internationally recognized scientific standard that aims to ensure the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Russia wants the majority of its citizens to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, by the autumn of 2021.
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