The coronavirus vaccine will be available to everyone after January 1 – by that time, mass production will already be organized. Scientists interviewed by Izvestia told about this… The President announced the registration by Russia of the world’s first COVID-19 drug, developed by the Gamaleya Center together with the Ministry of Defense, at a meeting with members of the government. The head of state noted that his daughter had already experienced the effect of the vaccine. New drug first of all, the medical staff and teachers will be vaccinatedwho are at risk. Although vaccination is planned to be carried out voluntarily, in the event of a sharp deterioration in the epidemiological situation, it can be made mandatory, experts say… Currently the situation in Russia is stabilizing – On August 11, for the first time since the end of April, less than 5 thousand infected with a new infection were detected.
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“Works effectively”
The main topic of the president’s meeting with members of the government was supposed to be preparation for the start of the school year, but the news of Russia’s registration of the world’s first vaccine against coronavirus pulled the agenda over.
“I know that it works quite effectively, forms a stable immunity and has passed all the necessary checks,” Vladimir Putin said at the beginning of the meeting., thanking everyone who worked on this drug.
One of the president’s daughters has already taken root from the coronavirus as part of an experiment. She received two injections, after which she had a slight fever. However, now she feels good, said Vladimir Putin, noting that the vaccine did not cause any side effects in many.
Preclinical studies of the drug from COVID-19 were carried out at the National Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after N.F. Gamalei and in the 48th Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense, and clinical – in the Sechenov Institute and a branch of the Burdenko Main Military Hospital. The vaccine, according to the Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko, has shown high efficiency and safety.
The vaccine was named “Sputnik V” – in memory of the launch of the first satellite of the Earth by the USSR, which launched space research all over the world.
Two sites will start producing it at once – the Center itself. Gamalei and Binnopharm, said the head of the Ministry of Health. The drug will be offered primarily to doctors and teachers. However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the project office of Sberbank are already helping to work out technical regulations for a number of domestic companies.
– The capacities of the Binnopharm plant currently allow producing about 1.5 million doses of vaccine per year. We plan to equip the plant with additional equipment, which will increase the volume of vaccine production– President of AFK Sistema Vladimir Chirakhov told Izvestia.
Fast immunity
The uniqueness of the drug lies in the reduction of the timing of the development of immunity to the virus… According to the N.F. Gamalea, during the first vaccination, humoral cellular immunity appears, and after the second, memory cells are formed – this is one of the main properties of Sputnik V. Its clinical trials began in June, and mass production is scheduled to begin by the end of the year.
After January 1, when the process of manufacturing the drug for citizens has already been organized, the vaccine will be available to everyone, a professor at the N.I. Gorky National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology told Izvestia. N.F. Gamalei Anatoly Altshtein…
– In the near future and in the long term, vaccination will be voluntary. Although a lot will depend on test results, efficacy and safety in widespread use. It will also be important to take into account the level of the coronavirus epidemic. Under some circumstances, mandatory vaccination may be introduced, – the specialist noted.
According to him, China, the United States, Great Britain and Israel are at the same level of vaccine development as Russia. However, the registration process is different in these countries – this is not a medical issue, the expert emphasized.
Problems with providing citizens with the drug will not arise due to the lightness of the structure of the drug, Alexei Agranovsky, professor of the Department of Virology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, told Izvestia.… At the same time, there is no reason to doubt the reliability of the drug – before registration, Sputnik V successfully passed all the necessary tests, the expert noted.
– No special capacity is required for vaccine production, as I understand it… There is no need to produce protein, or killed or live virus. Here is a different mechanism, simpler and cheaper to develop, – said the scientist.
This discovery will strengthen the prestige of the Russian scientific community and become a breakthrough for the whole world, says Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Evgeny Shlyakhto.
“We are the first here,” the expert told Izvestia.
Earlier, the Association of Clinical Research Organizations, whose members are large (mainly Western) pharmaceutical companies, urged the head of the Ministry of Health Mikhail Murashko to postpone the registration of the vaccine. The AOKI appeal indicated that fewer than 100 people participated in the tests of the drug, while usually several thousand were involved in the final tests.
However, the members of the organization were mistaken in this matter, Yevgeny Timakov, an infectious disease specialist and vaccinologist, told Izvestia. The fact is that we are not talking about the international registration of the vaccine, clinical trials involving several thousand people will continue. She has already passed the first two stages of testing in strict accordance with international standards. Office approved pre-registration to begin third phase, and only then the question of registration of the vaccine as international will be raised.
The claims that the association arose are more likely in the sphere of commerce, noted the famous virologist, Doctor of Medical Sciences Anatoly Alshtein.
– There are questions of priorities, a question of commerce, and so on. Questions that have nothing to do with science itself and vaccinology itself, he said. – No matter how they motivate, it is felt that these are competitors who are not doing so badly, but who are lagging behind and for some reason they are not given registration.
Moreover, according to Valentina Kosenko, deputy head of Roszdravnadzor, several hundred volunteers have already been vaccinated with the vaccine, and no serious adverse reactions have been identified. AOKI representatives drew conclusions without knowing any results, she said.
From internet to school
In parallel with scientific advances in the country, the epidemiological situation is stabilizing, said the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova at the meeting. On August 11, for the first time since the end of April, less than 5 thousand people infected with coronavirus infection were identified.
So that the first call this year will be celebrated by students not remotely, but in person, Minister of Education Sergei Kravtsov reported to the President… However, it has not yet been possible to completely overcome the pandemic, therefore, within the walls of schools, everyone will have to comply with the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor.
Wherein until August 20, educational institutions are planned to be checked not only for epidemiological, but also for fire and anti-terrorist safety… So far, we have managed to inspect about 36 thousand schools, but in total there are about 80 thousand of them.
Besides these aspects, the president asked to pay attention to providing primary school students with free hot meals… Vladimir Putin signed the corresponding law in March, but soon schools switched to a distance learning format. According to the head of state, it is especially necessary to carefully monitor the situation in small settlements, where there are often no full-fledged canteens and canteens.