Many Russian business and political elite have received an experimental vaccine against the coronavirus.
Many Russian businesses and political elites have had early access to an experimental Covid-19 vaccine, according to people close to the effort, as the country fights to be among the first to develop a vaccination.
Top executives from companies such as aluminum giant United Co. Rusal, as well as billionaire tycoons and government officials began to get developed by the state-run Gamaleya Institute in Moscow, as early as April, people said. They refused to be identified because the information is not public.
The Gamaleya vaccine, funded by the Russian State-run Direct Investment Fund and backed by the Defense Ministry, completed a Phase 1 trial last week involving military personnel. The institute has not released the results of the study, which involved around 40 people, but has started the next stage of testing with a larger group.
Gamaleya’s press office could not be reached immediately for comment. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who recovered from Covid-19 after being hospitalized with the virus in May, said he did not know the names of those who received the institute’s vaccine .
Asked on Monday in a conference call with reporters whether President Vladimir Putin took it, Peskov said: “It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to use an uncertified vaccine on the head of state,” adding that he was not aware. other officials try it.
Peskov’s comments follow a statement from the Health Ministry that only participants in Gamaleya’s trials are currently eligible for the jabs.
Although the new vaccines are “safe” because they are based on vaccines proven for other diseases, their effectiveness has not yet been determined, according to Sergei Netesov, a former executive at Vector, a virology center run by state in Novosibirsk, Siberia, this is also working on an inoculation.
“Those who take it do so at their own risk,” Netesov said.
Russia has reported more than 750,000 cases of Covid-19, the world‘s fourth-largest total, and Gamaleya’s program is on a faster track than many Western developers. RDIF chief Kirill Dmitriev said last week that phase 3 trials will start on August 3 and will affect thousands of people in Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with the vaccine being distributed nationwide from September. Western researchers typically run Phase 3 trials for months to better understand safety and effectiveness.
Gamaleya’s candidate is a so-called viral vector vaccine based on a human adenovirus – a cold virus – fused with the SARS spike protein CoV-2 to stimulate an immune response. It’s similar to a vaccine developed by Chinese company CanSino Biologics, which is already in Phase 2 trials with plans for more in Canada.
Canada was among the countries – along with the United States and the United Kingdom – that last week accused Russian government-backed hackers of trying to steal secrets from their research into the Covid-19 vaccine. Russian officials deny the allegations.
Experimental vaccine
The program in which well-connected Russians were lucky enough to volunteer for doses of the experimental vaccine is legal but kept under wraps to avoid a crush of potential participants, according to a researcher familiar with the effort. He said several hundred people were involved. Bloomberg has confirmed dozens of people who had the shots but none would allow their names to be released.
It is not known how the participants are selected and they are not part of the official studies, although they are monitored and their results recorded by the institute. Patients usually receive the injections – two are needed to produce an immune response that
Gamaleya says it will last about two years – in a Moscow clinic connected to the institute. Participants are not billed and sign press releases confirming that they are aware of the risks involved.
RDIF’s Dmitriev said he and his family took the photos and noted that a significant number of other volunteers also had the opportunity. He declined to provide further details. The Gamaleya Institute said it vaccinated its director, as well as the team working on the trial, early on. In May, the state-controlled Sberbank recruited volunteers from among the employees to take the beating.
A senior executive who was vaccinated said he had not experienced any side effects. He said the health risks were worth being able to resume a normal life, both personal and professional. Other takers have reported having fever and muscle pain after receiving the injections.
Vaccine race
Several officials from Rusal’s Moscow offices, which rely on Gamaleya’s Ebola vaccine to maintain operations in the West African country of Guinea, have already taken the institute’s Covid-19 injections, sources familiar with folder. Fertilizer maker PhosAgro PJSC is among the companies that have been asked to do the same, other people said. Spokesmen for Rusal and Phosagro declined to comment.
Some big business executives said they turned down the offer on health issues. A mogul said he decided not to participate after his doctor told him it would take at least a year to assess the risks of the new vaccine.
Early results from CanSino’s trial showed that its adenovirus vaccine had a diminished effect in some people who had pre-existing immunity to this pathogen. RDIF’s Dmitriev said researchers in Russia are testing two different types of adenovirus vectors to reduce the chances of pre-existing immunity reducing the effectiveness of the cocktail.
Gamaleya chief Alexander Ginzbur said he was not aware of any government officials or business leaders taking the vaccine from his institute, according to Interfax.
Several officials from Rusal’s Moscow offices, which rely on Gamaleya’s Ebola vaccine to maintain operations in the West African country of Guinea, have already taken the institute’s Covid-19 injections, sources familiar with folder. Fertilizer maker PhosAgro PJSC is among the companies that have been asked to do the same, other people said. Spokesmen for Rusal and Phosagro declined to comment.
Some big business executives said they turned down the offer on health issues. A mogul said he decided not to participate after his doctor told him it would take at least a year to assess the risks of the new vaccine.
Early results from CanSino’s trial showed that its adenovirus vaccine had a diminished effect in some people who had pre-existing immunity to this pathogen. RDIF’s Dmitriev said researchers in Russia are testing two different types of adenovirus vectors to reduce the chances of pre-existing immunity reducing the effectiveness of the cocktail.
Gamaleya chief Alexander Ginzbur said he was not aware of any government officials or business leaders taking the vaccine from his institute, according to Interfax.
