Finally being the first again - the desire for it was probably one of the reasons for the rapid approval of a corona vaccine in Russia. A number of data on the preparation are still missing or not known. Nevertheless, the first countries have already expressed their interest.
Moscow (dpa) - The first countries have already expressed interest in Russia's corona vaccine "Sputnik V" - the first approved worldwide. The Brazilian state of Paraná announced it would sign an agreement with Russia to produce the vaccine itself.
The contract for this should be signed this Wednesday, said Jorge Callado, President of the leading technology institute Tecpar in Curitiba, on Brazilian television. The vaccination is expected to be available in the second half of 2021. "We will work in stages," said the Russian consul in Curitiba, Acef Said, to the German press agency. "The technical-scientific cooperation opens up the possibility of doing vaccine tests and producing the vaccine here for the Brazilian population."
According to a media report, the cooperation had already been the subject of talks between the Russian ambassador to Brazil, Sergey Akopov, and the governor of Paraná, Carlos Roberto Massa Júnior, in July. The Brazilian government and the state of São Paulo also have agreements with companies (AstraZeneca, Sinovac) that carry out vaccine tests in Brazil and provide access to a possible vaccination for the Brazilian population.
The Ministry of Health officially said that it was closely monitoring all vaccines in development. After a Brazilian media report, officials are more cautious about "Sputnik V" behind closed doors. After the procurement of breathing equipment, which was associated with immense corruption, there is now fear of an onslaught of the states on the vaccine - with no guarantee of its effectiveness.
The head of the Russian investment fund, Kirill Dmitriev, said: "We are open to international cooperation." According to him, several countries have expressed an interest in producing the vaccine themselves. Besides Brazil, he named the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates. Russia is working with these countries, he said, according to Russian media. According to Russian information, more than 20 countries have already expressed interest.
There is also interest from abroad to take part in the third and therefore decisive test phase for possible approval. Initially, Dmitriev did not give any details. The new test phase should begin with the approval of the vaccine. Russia has already received international inquiries about a billion cans. The fund established by the Kremlin finances the production and development of the vaccine.
Israel also announced that it was fundamentally interested in "Sputnik V". Israeli Health Minister Juli Edelstein said on Tuesday that there are already discussions about the new vaccine.
Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the vaccine had been approved for broad use in the population. It was therefore carried out before the results of large clinical studies were available - a procedure that contradicts the usual international procedure. Neither the effectiveness nor the side effects can currently be properly assessed.
The World Health Organization reacted cautiously. The WHO is aware that Russia has registered a vaccine and welcomes all progress in research and development on Covid-19 vaccines, the WHO regional office for Europe said at the request of the German Press Agency. At the same time, the office pointed out that accelerated vaccine research should be carried out according to proven processes in every development step.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump promised the American people rapid progress in developing their own vaccine. "We are well on the way to producing 100 million doses quickly once the vaccine is approved and up to 500 million shortly thereafter," Trump said in the White House. Several promising substances are in the final testing phase and are about to be approved.
The name for the Russian vaccine "Sputnik V" is supposed to recall the first satellite in space that the Soviet Union launched in 1957 off the USA. The vaccine was developed by the Gamaleja State Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow. Only a few people received it as part of a study.
The head of the Russian investment fund had announced that the phase III study should begin now. Tens of thousands of volunteers should therefore be vaccinated within a month. Mass vaccinations in the population are then planned for the fall, it said. At the same time, the fund activated its own website with information on its vaccine - in a total of seven languages.
The President of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, stated that it would be a "high-risk experiment on humans" if a vaccine like the one in Russia is approved without a decisive third test phase. "It is irresponsible to vaccinate entire population groups at this stage of development," he told the "Rheinische Post".
Six other vaccine candidates are currently being tested in a Phase III study, according to a list published by the World Health Organization on Monday. According to experts, only a well-effective vaccine can bring about a rapid and significant turnaround in the corona pandemic without the need for strict lockdown rules.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200812-99-133630 / 2