Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed hope that the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine will become one of the drugs supplied to participating countries under the COVAX program.
“We hope that the Sputnik V vaccine will join COVAX, provided that it (the vaccine, – ed.) will be included in the list of drugs recommended by WHO for use in emergency situations”, – the press service of the WHO stated.
On Monday, February 8, members of the organization held regular negotiations on additional data on the Russian vaccine.
WHO has partnered with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation to launch the COVAX program, which is focused on supporting innovation to tackle epidemiological challenges. Under this program, higher-income governments fund vaccine purchases by subsidizing purchases for less affluent countries. COVAX currently has agreements with vaccine manufacturers from Pfizer / BioNTech and AstraZeneca.
In August, the Russian Ministry of Health registered the world’s first vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19, developed by the Gamaleya Center and produced in conjunction with the Russian Direct Investment Fund. The Gam-Covid-Vac vaccine has the trade name Sputnik V. The drug is created on the platform of human adenoviral vectors and involves the introduction of two components with an interval of three weeks. The main advantage is efficiency and the absence of long-term negative consequences. Human adenovirus-based drugs have been in widespread use for over 50 years.
On February 2, The Lancet published the results of the third phase of clinical trials of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. Experts found that the effectiveness of the drug is extremely high and amounts to 91.6%.
The Sputnik V vaccine is already being used to vaccinate the population in Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, the Republic of Guinea and Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua and the Republika Srpska (the Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon and Myanmar.