Britain`s AstraZeneca recently said that it would investigate combining its experimental COVID-19 vaccine with Russia`s Sputnik V vaccine candidate, a move Russian scientists have suggested could sharply boost efficacy. The developers of Sputnik V suggested on Twitter last month that AstraZeneca try the combination.
Trials will start by the end of the year, said the RDIF wealth fund, which has funded Sputnik V, named after the Soviet-era satellite that triggered the space race. In a statement on Friday (December 11), AstraZeneca said it was considering how it could assess combinations of different vaccines, and would soon begin exploring with Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, which developed Sputnik V, whether two common cold virus-based vaccines could be successfully combined.
The co-operation between one of Britain’s most valuable listed companies and the state-backed Russian science research institute highlights the pressure to develop an effective shot to fight the pandemic that has killed over 1.5 million people. The move is likely to be seen in Moscow as a long-awaited vote of confidence by a Western manufacturer in Sputnik V. Its Russian developers say clinical trials, still underway, have shown it has an efficacy rate of over 90%, higher than AstraZeneca’s own vaccine and similar to U.S. rivals Pfizer and Moderna. Some Western scientists have raised concerns about the speed at which Russia has worked, giving the regulatory go-ahead for its vaccines and launching large-scale vaccinations with Sputnik V before full trials to test its safety and efficacy have been completed.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund, which has funded Sputnik V, said: “This shows the strength of Sputnik V technology and our willingness and desire to partner with other vaccines to fight against COVID together.”
Days ahead of a large-scale inoculation campaign for the COVID-19 vaccine ‘Sputnik V’, Russian health officials are asking citizens to avoid alcohol for around two months. The warning has not gone down well with a wide section of Russians, who believe the request is unreasonable. Some health experts fear that the extreme recommendation may even dissuade people from getting the vaccine.
