RUSSIA-Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that Russia has approved the first coronavirus vaccine for use as questions remain as to whether Russia can prove that any such vaccine is effective and safe.
Putin said that mass vaccinations for Russians will begin in October and that the vaccine will be available for other countries in November.
American coronavirus experts are skeptical.
"Having a vaccine and proving that a vaccine is safe and effective are two different things," said White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr Anthony Fauci, Fauci going on to tell reporters that "I seriously doubt that they've done that."
Putin called Russia's new vaccine the world's first.
"A vaccine against coronavirus has been registered for the first time in the world this morning," Putin said on state TV. "I know that it works quite effectively, it forms a stable immunity."
Outdoing Brazille, which got the first test drive of the Oxford University coronavirus vaccine, Russia is the first country to complete human trials of the COVID-19 vaccine as the United States is expected to introduce a vaccine by the end of the year.
Developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russian scientists and doctors utilized two different types of clinical trials using 20 people who volunteered for the injection, one clinical trial carried out at the Burdenko Military Hospital and the other at the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University.
"The research has been completed and it proved that the vaccine is safe," said Elena Smolyarchuk, chief researcher for the Russian Center for Clinical Research on Medications at Sechenov University in a news wire.
Once again Russia has outdone the United States relative to science and technology, this COVID-19 vaccine of which follows the 20th century space race competition between the U.S. and Russia where the Soviet Union achieved the first successful launch with the October 4, 1957 orbiting of Sputnik 1 and, on April 12, 1961, sent the first human to space with the orbital flight of Yuri Gagarin.
The new vaccine is named Sputnik-V, referencing
The USSR also sent the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, to space on June 16, 1963, with numerous other firsts taking place over the next few years with regards to flight duration, spacewalks and related activities.
The United States, however, can brag of being the first to have a human to walk on the moon as the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle, commanded by astronaut Neil Armstrong, stepped onto the moon's lunar surface on July 20, 1969, some 49 years ago.
According to the World Health Organization, there are at least 21 potential vaccines currently under trial worldwide.
Worldwide there are 13 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 573,000 deaths.
After months of decline, the coronavirus pandemic, which hit the U.S. in March begin re-spiking in late June
Russia has reported some 902,701 cases of the new SARS coronavirus and 15,260 deaths caused by complications from Covid-19, the disease caused by the new SARS.
Worldwide there are some 20 million confirmed cases and over 740,000 deaths, 5 million of those deaths in the U.S. alone, which has posted some 168,000 deaths.
Data show that COVID-19 is affecting some 213 countries and territories around the world and two international conveyances, the U.S. leading all of the countries in both reported cases and affiliated deaths, followed by Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa and New Mexico respectively.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
