Finally, after the Russian has approved its use, there is concrete evidence that the country’s experimental coronavirus vaccine induces a genuine immune response.
The effects of an initial verification were published Friday in The Lancet educational journal, New Scientist reports, ending weeks of mystery in which Russian officials boasted of the vaccine when there was no public evidence of its effectiveness.
Even the recently published experiment is on a tiny scale of what it takes for a vaccine to work and be safe. The article shows that the vaccine prepared the immune formula of the 76 healthy volunteers to combat coronavirus without side effects. The New Scientist states that there is still no evidence that the vaccine prevents or even relieves COVID-19 infections.
Without data, scientists remain skeptical about the vaccine and, of course, its implementation, until there is concrete evidence that it will help.
“We expect widespread vaccination until mid-next year,” World Health Organization spokeswoman Margaret Harris said at a news conference on Friday.
“This phase 3 wants to take longer because we want to see how protective the vaccine is and we also want to see how safe it is,” Harris added, referring to experimental vaccines in general.
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