26 COVID-19 vaccines under development in Russia, says public health chief

Russian Public Health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, on Tuesday stated that no less than 26 different vaccines against coronavirus were currently being developed in the country.

Anna Popova, head of the Rospotrebnadzor, said in August, Sputnik V, developed by Russia’s Gamaleya National Research Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, became world’s first registered COVID-19 vaccine.

“Thirty-six vaccines are at the stage of clinical trials, and globally 92 vaccines are going through pre-clinical trials,’’ Popova said at a meeting at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

According to him, in Russia, 17 scientific organisations are working on 26 vaccines.

“Currently, around 50 per cent of all the confirmed COVID-19 patients in Russia are either asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms, thanks to the epidemiological monitoring,’’ she added.

The Rospotrebnadzor chief also stressed that, according to official data, there has been no second wave of the pandemic in Russia during the summer season.

“Today, Spain, Germany and France approach the same figure of 50 per cent of asymptomatic cases, but they lost time when they said there was no coronavirus wave in the summer.

“They believe they had no wave in the summer.

“They believe there were two waves; while we think this is the same epidemiological process, just different manifestations,’’ Popova said at a meeting at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

After registration of Sputnik V, no less than 20 countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Mexico, Brazil and India, have expressed interest in obtaining the drug.

Moscow’s plans include ramping up production of the vaccine to 200 million doses by the end of 2020, including 30 million in Russia.