Russia becomes first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine, says Putin

Alexey NIKOLSKY / SPUTNIK / AFP

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia had become the first country in the world to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing.

The vaccine still has to complete final trials, raising concerns among some experts at the speed of its approval, but the Russian business conglomerate Sistema has said it expects to put it into mass production by the end of the year.

Russian health workers treating COVID-19 patients will be offered the chance of volunteering to be vaccinated in the coming weeks, a source told Reuters last month.

Regulatory approval paves the way for the mass inoculation of the Russian population and authorities hope it will allow the economy, which has been battered by fallout from the virus, to return to full capacity.

Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, hailed the development as a historic "Sputnik moment", comparable to the Soviet Union's 1957 launch of Sputnik 1, the world's first satellite.

The vaccine will be marketed under the name 'Sputnik V' on foreign markets, he said.

Dmitriev said Russia had already received foreign requests for 1 billion doses. International agreements had been secured to produce 500 million doses annually, with the vaccine also expected to be produced in Brazil.

He said clinical trials were expected to start soon in the UAE and the Philippines.

But only about 10 per cent of clinical trial are successful, and the speed at which Russia has moved, approving a vaccine before the final stages of trials to test safety and efficacy are over, has worried some scientists, who fear Moscow may be putting national prestige before safety.

Speaking at a government meeting on state television, Putin dismissed those concerns, saying the vaccine, developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, was safe and that it had even been administered to one of his daughters.

"I know that it works quite effectively, forms strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the needed checks," said Putin.

He said he hoped mass production would start soon.

More from International News

On Virgin Radio today

  • The Kris Fade Show

    7:00am - 10:00am

    Kris, Priti and Rossi host the UAE's biggest radio show. It's full of fun, laughs and it's Where The Stars Live.

  • Hit 500 with Eddie

    10:00am - 2:00pm

    The UAE's favourite songs counted down...

Trending on Virgin Radio

  • BRED Abu Dhabi

    BRED Abu Dhabi, Presented by Hypebeast, is back April 24-28 in Yas Bay. The line up is next level and locked in.

  • ARN News Centre

    Get the latest UAE and world news from our award winning team of journalists. The ARN News Centre is the country's most trusted source of information.

  • Jason Derulo on the Kris Fade Show!

    The super-star and multi-award-winning singer-songwriter, Jason Derulo is bringing the heat to Dubai.

  • Mais Vault on the Kris Fade Show!

    The boys tried their 'pick up' lines on Mais Vault and things did not go according to plan...