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WHO Regional Director for Europe thanks Russia for developing Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine

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The Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, the world’s first officially registered vaccine against coronavirus, is currently undergoing post-registration trials

The Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is undergoing clinical trials for the coronavirus pandemic

The vaccine was registered by the Ministry of Health of Russia and became the world's first registered vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 based on the human adenoviral vectors platform

Moscow says it has received requests or 'expressions of interests' from various countries for 1.2 billion doses of the vaccine

Moscow: Hans Kluge, the Regional Director for Europe at the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the UN health agency greatly appreciates the efforts Russia has made to develop a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease, Sputnik News reported. The Sputnik V, the world’s first officially registered vaccine against COVID-19, developed by the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology is currently undergoing post-registration trials involving about 42,000 volunteers. Meanwhile, reports from state media claimed on Thursday that the first batch of the Sputnik V vaccine has entered 'civil circulation' in Russia.

“The WHO greatly appreciates the efforts that the Russian Federation has made to develop a vaccine against COVID-19, namely Sputnik V. Once again I want to thank Russia for its excellent efforts to create a safe and effective vaccine”, Hans Kluge was quoted as saying after a meeting with Russian Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko.

According to the report, Kluge said he is confident that the ongoing post-registration trials of the Sputnik V vaccine will be successful and thanked all the volunteers who agreed to take part in clinical testing of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Now Russia has started the third phase of vaccine testing, when the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine will be tested on a very large group of people. I am sure these results will be positive. [...] Since I have been working in Russia for many years, I know that Russia has a very rich history in the development of vaccines and their production, as well as immunisation”, he added.

On August 11, Russia registered the Sputnik V vaccine, becoming the first in the world to approve a vaccine for coronavirus amid safety concerns. Results of the phase1/2 clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine published in the journal The Lancet showed no serious adverse effects and a stable immune response in 100 per cent participants.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Indian firm Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd could start the late-stage trials of the Sputnik V vaccine in the next week in India. The trials, which will enroll 1,000-2,000 participants, are part of a deal between Dr Reddy’s and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). As per the deal, RDIF shall supply 100 million doses of the vaccine to Dr Reddy’s, upon regulatory approval in India.

Russia said it has signed preliminary agreements with more than 10 countries and received requests or 'expressions of interests' from various countries for 1.2 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine.

Worldwide, the novel coronavirus has so far claimed at least 978,448 lives and infected at least 31,975,020 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.


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