India and Russia are in talks for collaboration to manufacture Sputnik V – the anti-coronavirus vaccine launched by Moscow earlier this m...
India and Russia are in talks for collaboration to manufacture Sputnik V – the anti-coronavirus vaccine launched by Moscow earlier this month – and for approval to conduct phase three trials, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Tuesday. Bhushan is also the co-chair of the national Covid-19 vaccine administration task force.
“As far as Sputnik V vaccine is concerned, both India and Russia are in communication,” said Bhushan, according to ANI. “Some initial information has been shared while some detailed information is awaited.” Unidentified government officials said Russian Ambassador Nikolay Kudashev had contacted Principal Scientific Adviser K Vijay Raghavan for vaccine-making partnership. Meanwhile, the Indian embassy in Moscow is in talks with the Gamaleya National Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology to get safety and efficacy data on the trials, reported ThePrint.
Sputnik V has been developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. Russia is the first nation to claim to have developed a coronavirus vaccine. However, various scientists have raised questions on registering the vaccine before conducting the phase three trials. This phase takes several months to complete and requires participation from thousands of people. The World Health Organization has said that the real test would be in phase three trials, during which 30% protection at population...
