Coronavirus: Russia starts making second Covid-19 vaccine as cases rise

Output of the second vaccine, which has yet to complete trials, will ramp up by the end of the year, says the head of Russia’s public health watchdog

Unlike Sputnik V, Russia’s second vaccine is a mix of short amino-acid chains, called peptides, that induce an immune response

Reading Time:3 minutes

Unlike Sputnik V, Vector’s vaccine is a mix of short amino-acid chains, called peptides, that induce an immune response. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:35pm, 27 Oct 2020Updated: 1:26am, 28 Oct 2020

Russia has begun production of a second coronavirus vaccine that has not completed trials, as the Kremlin rushes to develop a shield against the pandemic.

Output of the Covid-19 vaccine, developed by former biological weapons lab Vector State Virology and Biotechnology Centre in Novosibirsk, will ramp up by the end of the year, said Anna Popova, the head of Russia’s public-health watchdog, at a conference on Tuesday.

President Vladimir Putin announced the approval of Vector’s vaccine earlier this month, following a similar trajectory of the Sputnik V inoculation in August, which he claimed was the first to be registered in the world.

Both were tested on a limited number of people before receiving provisional registration that will allow for widespread use as they undergo Phase 3 trials to prove they are safe and effective.

A worker sprays disinfectant at a railway station in Moscow. Photo: Bloomberg

The authorities are hoping the experimental vaccines will stem the tide of the pandemic while minimising the economic fallout that a lockdown would entail.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x