Russian COVID-19 vaccine brings not much hope to India

Russia has claimed to have developed the first vaccine for coronavirus and named it Sputnik V but the vaccine is still not of much hope to India as it has not been acknowledged by experts from India and WHO too. The Russian vaccine is feared to have skipped neccessary phase 3 trials.

Russia claims to have developed a COVID-19 vaccine called Sputnik V. This is despite an incomplete mass clinical trials.The wait for the vaccine can be longer than expected for India.The COVID-19 vaccine claimed to be a success by Russia is developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Healthcare Ministry. The vaccine called Sputnik V is a reference to the surprise 1957 launch of the world's first satellite by the Soviet Union.Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that clinical trials of the vaccine were over. Medical workers and teachers will be the first to get the COVID-19 vaccine, he said.Will the Russian vaccine come to India, which has recorded over 23 lakh COVID-19 cases and 46,000 deaths?

There are several ways in which the vaccine can be made available in India, according to a report. In one way, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) can ask Russia to conduct late-phase human trials on an Indian population, which consists of both phase-2 and phase-3 trials, said the report.Conducting late-phase human trials is a usual requirement for all vaccines developed outside of India. The step is important as a vaccine’s efficacy can differ in different population groups. Experts believe that Russia may have cut corners in producing ‘the world’s first COVID vaccine’.The Russian  vaccine has been approved for the public use before completing the crucial last stage human trials.AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria has said, we need to check if Russian COVID vaccine is safe and effective; India has the capacity for mass .The route is being taken by vaccine candidate being developed by Oxford University, one of the six potential vaccines that have reached phase three clinical trials as per the World Health Organization’s (WHO) list. The Russian vaccine is not in this WHO's list.

In India the human trials of vaccines is being carried out and may take some more months to get the first data. The cases are surging as high as more than 50,000 each day but the unexpected wait for an Indian vaccine gives not much hope.

Emergency approval was granted to use remdesivir drug as a therapeutic on COVID-19 patients. However, this type of approval is not likely to be given for the use of the Russian vaccine, as unlike a drug that is administered only to patients, vaccines are inoculated to a large number of people. In the case of COVID-19, everyone needs to be vaccinated. Therefore, the risks involved are much higher, the report said.Another issue in providing the Russian vaccine to Indians is the absence of any agreement for its production in the country right now, added the report.