According to British virologist Ian Jones, the Russian corona vaccine could mutate the virus. He warns of the use.
- A British virologist warns of the Russian vaccine against the coronavirus *.
- He fears the drug could mutate the virus.
- In Russia, "Sputnik V" is to be distributed to risk groups.
- Basic facts about the corona virus * and the corona news from Germany can be found here. We also offer you the current number of cases in Germany on a map .
Reading - At the beginning of the month, the announcement from Russia that a vaccine had been developed against the coronavirus caused a sensation worldwide. However, numerous scientists at home and abroad quickly expressed criticism of the test methods and the effectiveness of the “ Sputnik V ” agent . Now a virologist from England even fears that the vaccine could cause the virus to mutate. In Russia , on the other hand, they are not very impressed and are sticking to production and distribution.
Vaccine from Russia: The corona pandemic could get worse as a result
The British scientist Ian Jones from Reading University is now sounding the alarm, the Bild reports . If the vaccine works only partially, then there is a chance that the viruses evade the antibodies . This is how strains of the virus *that are completely immune to the vaccination, says the virologist. He is therefore vehemently pushing for further tests before the drug is approved. "In that sense, a weak vaccine is worse than no vaccine at all," says Jones .
From the point of view of the Russian developers of the vaccine as well as the head of state Vladimir Putin , there is no danger of " Sputnik V " - although the agent was only tested for two months in small studies. Scientists also complain that the results of the tests have not yet been published. So there is great skepticism among Western colleagues. A large efficacy study is still needed . Meanwhile, in Germany, research is also feverishly into a vaccine *.
Russian vaccine is to be tested on several thousand subjects
Russia now wants to catch up on such a large study . The effectiveness of the agent is to be tested on 40,000 participants. However, at the same time the vaccine should be distributed to risk groups without waiting for the results.
The wrong path for Jones . The more effectively a vaccine blocks a virus , the lower the risk that the virus will spread throughout the body and “learn” how to evade antibodies , explains Jones. “But when it does penetrate and replicate, there is selection pressure to dodge the antibodies generated by the inefficient vaccine . And you don't know what the result will look like. ” (Tel) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.
Another virologist is said to have already found a mutation in the coronavirus. But this could have a positive effect on people.
List of rubric lists: © dpa / Sakchai Lalit