Did Russia Really Develop The World’s First Vaccine?

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Tuesday the country has become the first to approve an experimental COVID-19 vaccine and that his own daughter has already taken a dose.

Russia claimed to have created the world’s First Vaccine for Covid-19 and named it as “Sputnik V” (a reference to the world’s first satellite).

The Vaccine has been given the health ministry approval as it underwent the necessary tests and was shown to provide lasting immunity to the coronavirus. However, Russia didn’t complete the phase 3 trial yet and rushes to provide the vaccine and that may falsify its efficacy or effectiveness.

Currently, the Russian vaccine is not among the WHO’s list of six vaccines that have reached phase three clinical trials, which involve more widespread testing in humans.

The vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow with assistance from Russia’s Defense Ministry uses the common cold-causing adenovirus and that’s been modified to carry genes for the “spike” protein that coats the coronavirus, as a way to prime the body to recognize if a real COVID-19 infection comes along.