Russia announced that its coronavirus vaccine, which has already been approved for general use, will be undergoing a Phase 3 trial in the United Arab Emirates.
The vaccine, dubbed “Sputnik V,” has generated controversy because the Russian Ministry of Health approved its use in August despite no Phase 3 trials being completed. Phase 3 trials are conducted to determine the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine.
The UAE follows Belarus in agreeing to participate in a Phase 3 trial. The website dedicated to Sputnik V states that a trial of 40,000 Russians is also underway.
In September, the developer of the vaccine, Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, published data on Phase 1 and 2 trials of the vaccine in the medical journal Lancet. Many scientists have criticized the study, noting its small sample size, that it did not use a placebo, and that it did not test anyone over age 60, the age group most vulnerable to COVID-19. The study only examined the vaccine on 76 healthy adults aged 18-60.
Despite these limitations, Russia is pushing ahead with mass production of Sputnik V. Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which has helped develop the vaccine, said in September that Russia was “already vaccinating high-risk groups in different regions of Russia, and we will go to about 10 million doses a month in December.”
In September, RDIF struck deals with Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and India to supply the vaccine. In early October, a deal was reached with Egypt to supply 25 million doses of the vaccine.
