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| Sputnik V Corona 19 vaccine developed by Russia. © Reuters = News 1 |
The efficacy of’Sputnik V’, a novel coronavirus infectious disease (Corona 19) vaccine developed in Russia, has been shown to be superior to expectations, attracting attention from around the world. It was evaluated that it was competitive in both distribution and price as well as vaccine efficacy.
In fact, Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine showed 91.6% of the vaccine effectiveness as a result of the recently published phase 3 clinical trial. At the time of the clinical trial, the researchers used a liquid vaccine that needed to be stored at -18 degrees Celsius (°C), but if stored in a freeze-dried form, storage at 2 to 8 degrees is possible. The price is also $20 (about 22,366 won), which is a bit more expensive than the Astrezeneca vaccine, but it is competitive compared to Pfizer and Modena.
◇Expand supply to each country after proving the effect… Distribution and price competitiveness
On the 7th (local time), Bloomberg News reported that a number of countries are waiting for Sputnik V supply after showing that Sputnik V is more effective than vaccines in the US and Europe as well as rival China in a clinical trial published recently on Lancet.
At least 20 countries, including Hungary, a member of the European Union (EU), have approved the’Sputnik V’vaccination, and it is expected to be approved soon in major markets such as India. There was also an expectation that the EU will be able to obtain a permit in March.
Iran plans to distribute Sputnik V at a scale of 2 million doses (one dose is one dose) from the 9th. Guinea, Africa, started vaccinating Sputnik V in December, when it was the first African country to be vaccinated against Corona 19.
In particular, South American countries are showing active interest in recent years. Argentina has distributed 500,000 doses of Sputnik V until January, and recently started full-fledged vaccination. Currently, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Venezuela are expected to follow, and health authorities in Brazil, the largest market in South America, announced on the 3rd that they will streamline the approval process and speed up approval.
Turkey has agreed to produce Sputnik V in Russia with Russia. Turkey recently signed a contract to purchase 50 million doses of the Corona 19 vaccine from China’s Sinobac and 45 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Korea Chorus, which produces Sputnik V in Korea, supplies all of its production to overseas markets.
◇Russian Sputnik V phase 3 clinical results 91.6% vaccine efficacy, 91.8% for those over 60
On the other hand, the research team published in the international medical journal’Lancet’ in the middle of a phase 3 clinical trial of Sputnik V conducted in Russia under the title’Safety and efficacy of a heterogeneous prime boost Corona 19 vaccine based on rAd26 and rAd5 vectors’. The analysis results were disclosed.
According to the published paper, the Spuknit V clinical trial was conducted in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled manner at 25 hospitals in Moscow, Russia from September 7 to November 24, 2020.
A total of 20,1977 people participated in the clinical trial, who were negative in the COVID-19 gene amplification (PCR) test and immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM tests, and there were no other infectious diseases 14 days before the clinical trial, and for 30 days before registration. These were adults over the age of 18 who had not received any other vaccinations.
21 days after the first vaccination, 16 out of 1494 people in the vaccination group and 62 out of 4902 people in the placebo group were infected with COVID-19. As a result of the overall interim analysis of phase 3 clinical trials, Sputnik V showed a vaccine efficacy of 91.6%, including several groups of people including the elderly, proving that it is comparable to other major Corona 19 vaccines in the United States and Europe.
In particular, as a result of testing by dividing into five cohorts (same group) by age, the vaccine protection effect in the group over 60 years old was 91.8%, which was similar to that of the rest of the age groups.
Of the 7966 reported adverse reactions, 94% or 7485 cases were mild. In addition, 45 (0.3%) in the vaccination group and 23 (0.4%) in the placebo group reported serious adverse reactions, but the Data Monitoring Committee (DMC), an independent advisory body responsible for evaluating the clinical trial process and results, It was determined that there were no cases related to vaccination.
Sputnik V uses an adenovirus vector (rAd) that does not have a risk of replication in the body to deliver part of the corona 19 virus gene into the body. This gene is expressed as a spike protein, a protein that infects cells among the corona 19 virus, and induces an immune response to an antigen in the body.
Sputnik V uses different vectors for the first and second doses. First, serotype 26 (Ad26) was used as a vaccine using the vector, and the second vaccine was used for serotype 5 (Ad5).
The researchers explained that using the two vectors minimized the decrease in efficacy due to the immune response that could occur if the same vector was used.