19,000 People Have Received Russian COVID-19 Vaccine Sputnik V

Russian COVID-19 Sputnik V has been given to 19,000 people in Moscow, according to Tass, a Russian news agency.

The vaccine is developed by Russian Healthcare Ministry’s Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology. Sputnik V is also the first COVID-19 vaccine to be registered as of now. It’s given in 2 components and the 19,000 people that have got the vaccine received the first component. Meanwhile, about 6,500 people received the second component.

According to Alexander Gintsburg, the Gamaleya Center’s director, the side effects of the vaccine are in line with the instruction for this preparation. The side effects include a 38-degree-C fever, muscle pain, and headache, which are seen in about 15% of those receiving the vaccine. He said:

“So it’s not difficult to understand that 85% of vaccinated people experience no side effects or any inconvenience.”

Each individual needs to get Sputnik V twice to get full effectiveness. The first and second injection are 3-4 weeks apart.

The great thing about Sputnik V, officially called Gam-COVID-vac, is that it delivers not only antibodies but also neutralizing antibodies to the injected person. Those injected with the vaccine have 1.5-2 times more neutralizing antibodies than COVID-19 infected people.

Being the first COVID-19 vaccine to have official approval, Sputnik V has passed all the clinical trials, which include the final one that started in August, involving 40,000 participants, 10,000 of whom received a placebo.

As of now, about 50 countries around the world have shown an interest in buying Sputnik.

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