Russia's new vaccine

摘要

RUSSIAN president Vladimir Putin announced on 11 August that the country has approved a coronavirus vaccine. Putin said that the vaccine is safe and effective. Russia apparently plans to start mass vaccinations in October. The news has caused global concern, with immunologists saying that Russia seems to be cutting corners. What do we know about the vaccine? The vaccine has been dubbed "Sputnik V", in reference to the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, launched by the USSR in 1957. It seems a sign that the Russian government plans to trumpet it as a matter of national pride. The vaccine has been developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, part of Russia's Ministry of Health. The vaccine would be administered in two shots, 21 days apart. Both shots contain modified adenoviruses, which would ordinarily cause a common cold. Both have been given the gene for the spike protein from the new coronavirus. This protein allows the virus to enter human cells. In theory, this should prime the immune system for an encounter with the actual virus.