Our Country has shown recklessness in approving the use of the CIOVID-19 vaccine before carrying out the necessary clinical trials, warn experts cited by Reuters. British drug specialist Ayfer Ali called it “the great population experiment.”
Health Minister Mikhail Murashko dismisses these accusations. On Wednesday, he said that any suspicions that the vaccine developed at the Moscow institute is not safe are unfounded. In his opinion, the reason for such claims is international competition, writes Interfax.
President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday that Our Country is the first country in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine after two months of clinical trials (on volunteers). He also assured her that it was safe and one of his daughters received it. “I know that it works quite effectively, induces a strong immune response, and – I can assure you – it has passed all the necessary tests” – he emphasized.
The preparation called Sputnik V is produced in the center for them. Nikolai Gamelei, reporting to the Ministry of Health and by the Binnofarm company.
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The decision of the regulators has been criticized by specialists around the world. They allege that the vaccine was approved for use before all the necessary clinical trials on its efficacy and safety were completed. Phase XNUMX, i.e. pre-registration, studies on a group of several thousand volunteers have not been conducted. This was also pointed out by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“It was a reckless and stupid decision,” said Francois Balloux of the Institute of Genetics at College London. In his opinion, when the necessary research is lacking, mass vaccination is inappropriate. Doing so poses a risk to humans, but can also undermine confidence in and public acceptance of vaccination.
British drug specialist at Warwick Business School, Ayfer Ali, called the premature approval of the drug “the great population experiment”. She pointed out that it is necessary to perform clinical trials on a large group of volunteers, as some side effects may be very rare but serious.
“It is reckless to do this without researching a large group of people,” said Peter Kremsner of the University of Tübingen, which is also researching one of the COVID-19 vaccines (called CureVac).
“Without the presentation of scientific documentation, we don’t even know if the vaccine is even effective,” said Keith Neal, an epidemiologist at Nottingham University.
Author: Zbigniew Wojtasiński
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