Pfizer and BioNTech were the first pharmacies to publish successful large-scale COVID-19 vaccine test data.
On November 9, the Russian Ministry of Health announced that the COVID-19 vaccine, called Sputnik V, was developed by the country as effective up to 90%. The statement above is made based on aggregate data from extensive immunization activities. In August, the Sputnik V vaccine made Russia the first country in the world to approve the COVID-19 vaccine.
In addition to Sputnik V, Russia has just approved a second vaccine called EpiVacCorona. This vaccine is based on a peptide that activates an immune response. Russia plans to produce the first batch of the EpiVacCorona vaccine consisting of 10,000 doses, starting this November.
One of the candidates considered to be potential in the race to find the current COVID-19 vaccine is AstraZeneca’s vaccine in collaboration with Oxford University to research and produce. The vaccine induces immune responses in both the young and the elderly as well as few side effects in the elderly.
So far, about 18,000 people have been tested by AstraZeneca’s vaccine. The company is committed not to shorten the testing process to test the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.
American pharmaceutical company Moderna is conducting clinical trials of the Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine on a large scale. The Moderna vaccine has some side effects, but it produces antibodies that neutralize the virus in older adults as well as in younger adults. These are very positive signs of the vaccine’s safety in older adults, who are at high risk of serious complications from COVID-19 infection.
China also has a number of vaccines that are currently in phase 3 testing and with good results. Highlights are vaccines from Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm. Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine has been tested on a large scale since mid-July in Brazil, then in Indonesia. However, on November 9, the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency announced the forced discontinuation of clinical trials of the CoronaVac vaccine following a hazardous incident involving a volunteer participating in the trial.