The Kremlin is betting on the "Sputnik 5" vaccine in response to a plague that has caused more than 20,000 deaths in the country • Another vaccine today passed the clinical trials phase
Vaccination of at-risk population in Russia against corona virus // Photo: AP
Russia's vaccine program to fight the corona plague has received significant reinforcement today: State media have reported that the corona disease vaccine has successfully passed the clinical trial stages and that it will soon be ready for mass vaccination of the country's population.
Russia's largest government consumer organization, Anna Popova, told NTV that two stages of the clinical trial of the vaccine developed by Vector have been approved. Popova said another vaccine, different in the level of antibodies it produces, is currently being tested.
Popova has rejected criticism from the West that Russia is "rounding corners" on the way to the vaccine, saying that the previously developed vaccine and dubbed "Sputnik 5" is safe to use and its distribution will begin soon.
The British Guardian reported today that Moscow aims to vaccinate more than ten million people by the end of December, in order to prevent the exacerbation of the corona outbreak in a country where the health system suffers from extreme budget shortages and is struggling to contain the plague even now.
"This is part of the Russian mentality that aims to try and save the world," the chairman of the Russian fund, which aims to spread the Russian vaccine outside the country's borders, Kirill Dmitriev, told the Guardian.
"We are already storing high-risk groups in remote areas of Russia, where it is difficult to get regular medical care. We plan to reach 10 million vaccinated by December," the Russian expert said.
