I wrote – Amira Helmy
The announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin, last Tuesday, of the registration of the first vaccine against the Corona virus in the world, raised skepticism, while experts warned that clinical trials should have been conducted for a longer period.
Putin asserted that the vaccine vaccine provides “sustainable immunity” and that one of his daughters received it. The vaccine was named “Sputnik” after the first man-made satellite to reach orbit, which was a victory for the Soviet space program over the American opponent in the late 1950s.
What did “global health” say?
The World Health Organization commented cautiously on Russia’s announcement, noting that “the stage before licensing” and licensing the vaccine is subject to “strict” mechanisms.
“We are in close contact with the Russian authorities, and the talks are continuing. The stage that precedes the licensing of any vaccine goes through strict mechanisms,” WHO spokesman Tariq Yasarevich said during a video conference.
He explained that “the pre-licensing stage includes a review and evaluation of all required safety and efficacy data collected during the clinical trial phase.”
He pointed out that in addition to the approval granted by the competent authorities in each country, “the World Health Organization has established a mechanism for prior authorization of vaccines but also of drugs. Manufacturers require prior authorization of the World Health Organization because it is a guarantee of quality.”
And last week, the World Health Organization expressed doubts after Russia announced that its vaccine was about to be completed, noting that any medicinal commodity “must undergo all necessary tests and checks before it is approved for use,” and indicated that it had not received “anything official” from Russia.
The spokesman said that at the present time, “it is very important to implement sustainable public health measures. We must continue to invest in developing vaccines and treatments that will help us reduce future transmission,” adding that “the speed of development of some potential vaccines is encouraging.” He continued: “We hope that some of these vaccines will prove to be safe and effective.”
Russian Health: not guaranteed:
The Russian Ministry of Health also confirmed that the vaccine “is not yet effective, due to the lack of studies on it.”
And in an investigation published on Tuesday also on its website and carried by Al Arabiya, she stated that the vaccine is not suitable for adults under 18 or over 60 years old, pregnant or breastfeeding women, or who suffer from a long list of basic diseases.
As for its symptoms, it is a miserable cocktail par excellence: swelling and itching at the vaccination site, decreased appetite, with a rise in temperature, in addition to a feeling of lethargy, as well as headache and diarrhea, with other symptoms similar to those of a cold, according to a report published by the British newspaper “The Telegraph”, and derived from what it contains Another 6-page report was issued by the Gamaleya Research and Microbiology Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology, which developed the vaccine at its Moscow headquarters.
Although there was an indication in the institute’s report, published in a picture of a section of its front page above, that most of these symptoms were “mild or moderate,” but the vaccine registration certificate included that “negatives cannot be identified more precisely, due to the limited sample of participants.” The tests were conducted on 38 volunteers for a period of 42 days, in which 144 negative events were recorded, 30 of which have continued to date.
In particular, the institute’s report cautioned that the vaccine should not be applied to those suffering from liver and kidney disease and diabetes, in addition to epilepsy, strokes, central nervous system diseases, heart and blood vessels, immune deficiency, lung diseases, asthma and eczema. The report also acknowledged that no research has been done on how the vaccine interacts with other drugs. As for the immunity it provides from the new “Corona”, the report confirmed that its duration is “unknown”, that is, contrary to what Russian officials claimed, that it reaches two years.
Germany is skeptical
As for the German Ministry of Health, it questioned “the quality, efficacy and safety,” as a spokeswoman for the German Ministry of Health said to the German “RND” group: “No information is known about the quality, effectiveness and safety of the Russian vaccine,” noting that “Patient safety (in the European Union) is on Top priority. “
And she continued: “The precondition for allowing the use of a vaccine in Europe is sufficient knowledge obtained from clinical trials to prove the effectiveness of the drug and its side effects, in addition to evidence of its pharmacological quality.
The same spokeswoman also told the “Deutschland Press Release Network” that a positive result must be demonstrated to the risk of using the drug compared to the benefit from it before it can be used on a large scale.
Fatal error
For his part, Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said that he feared that Russia’s approval of the vaccine would pressure the United States to launch its own vaccine before it was ready.
Offit said, “Russia’s behavior is a fatal mistake that could cause great harm. It was a political ploy.”
The vaccine is dangerous
Also the director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins University in America, Daniel Salmon, commented on the Russian vaccine, and said, “Really scary,” describing it as “dangerous.”
Salmon and a group of other researchers believe that Russia took a very dangerous step when it announced the readiness of the vaccine, because it ignored the three stages required during clinical trials.
The researchers explained that these steps are necessary so that the vaccine is effective and not harmful to the health of some people who take a dose of it.
Fauci doubts
The chief infectious disease expert in the US government, Anthony Fauchi, expressed his hope that Russia had “categorically” proved that the Corona vaccine, which it announced, was “safe and effective.”
“I am seriously suspicious that they (the Russians) have done this,” Fauchi said in statements to the National Geographic channel reported by Bloomberg News.
He pointed out that the United States has six vaccines that are subject to medical trials, but having a drug is one thing, and proving that it is safe and effective is a completely different thing.
“If we want to risk the opportunity to harm many people, we may start that next week,” Fauci said.
South Korea: Information is limited
South Korean government sources also stated that the information related to it is currently limited, indicating that it is possible to go to import it after making sure of its safety.
The South Korean “Yonhap” agency quoted Deputy Health Minister Kim Kang-lib as saying: “The issue of importing the Russian vaccine can be decided after securing basic information regarding the safety of its use.”
Iran warns
The Iranian Ministry of Health also urged the highest caution about the vaccine, and the spokesperson, Kianush Jahanpur, wrote on Twitter: “Before all clinical trials are completed, the use of vaccines such as / opening Pandora’s box – the box of evils – and therefore potentially dangerous.”
In Greek mythology, the chest opened by the strange Pandora contained all the evils of the world, including disease.
Jahanpour added that countries must remember that the goal of the vaccine should be the safety and health of the population.
Moscow Vaccine Center responds to skepticism
The director of the Russian Vaccine Center “Gamali”, Alexander Gentsburg, responded to what the vaccine had raised, saying, “It would be naive to expect an exceptional positive reaction from other countries if the vaccine is registered.
“Through the Russian vaccine production, certain people and certain companies will be deprived of several billion dollars,” Ginsburg added, in a statement reported by the AAA agency, on the “Russia-24” news channel, noting that the expected reaction in this case Questioning the vaccine would be, of course.
He stressed, “The Russian vaccine is completely safe and registered according to all Russian laws and legislation.”
welcome:
Amid those warnings, the vaccine was welcomed by some countries, as the Vietnamese Ministry of Health registered an application to purchase the vaccine, according to Vietnam’s state television, “VTV”.
“In the meantime, Vietnam will continue to develop its own Covid-19 vaccine,” the announcement said, quoting the Ministry of Health.
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