Russia's Second Vaccine '100% Effective' in Early Stage Trials, Watchdog tells Media

Russia's sovereign wealth fund RDIF has filed for registration of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine in the European Union and expects it to be reviewed in February, as Moscow seeks to speed up its availability worldwide.

Russian Federation was the first country to register a coronavirus vaccine in August despite Sputnik V's incomplete clinical trials at the time, raising concerns over the fast-tracked procedure.

Russian Federation began resting the EpiVacCorona which is being developed in Siberia.

According to researchers, their findings can have added value for vaccine developers who build their product on the immune response to the virus's spike protein, as well as for the use of convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19.

Its average efficacy rate was 70.4% in interim late-stage data, compared with more than 91.4% in trials of Sputnik V, which prompted Russian vaccine developers to suggest an attempt to combine the two. In addition, it demonstrated 100% efficacy against severe Covid-19 cases.

"We strive to help people of UAE to get access to a safe and effective Russian vaccine against coronavirus based on a proven and well-researched platform of human adenoviral vectors".

Emergency use approval of the vaccine was recently delayed in Brazil, after the country's health regulator said documents supporting the application did not meet its minimum criteria. "Moreover, local Phase III clinical trials of Sputnik V in the UAE are ongoing under the supervision of the MOHAP and Department of Health of Abu Dhabi with 1,000 volunteers already enrolled in the study", RDIF said in a press release.

Mexico aims to administer 7.4 million doses of Sputnik V by the end of March which could start arriving next week, even though its use has not yet been approved, according to a government plan presented on Tuesday. Their vaccine proved 90% effective against SARS-CoV-2.