"Russia … is the absolute leader in terms of the anti-coronavirus vaccine. This is a very precise fact. It is related to the fact that we are vaccinating people right now. Our clinical trials are going well. Our platform, the human adenovirus-based platform is the most studied, the safest platform," Dmitriev said during a joint briefing with the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.
The official added that the Sputnik V vaccine was a success partly because the Gamaleya Institute focused on the human adenoviruses.
"It is the most studied approach that has been studied over dozens of years and has shown its safety and security," Dmitriev noted.
He went on to say that the COVID-19 immunization was already underway in Russia.
"We are also conducting post-marketing research on the basis of 40,000 people, and more than 36,000 have already been signed up for these trials. So in less than a week, we have created a pool of volunteers, which includes 40,000 people. ... So we expect that by October, we will have the results based on 25,000-30,000 people who have been vaccinated and 42 days after we will be ready to share that information with you," Dmitriev said.
These clinical trials will also be conducted in the Middle East, Brazil, India, Mexico and a number of other countries, the RDIF chief added.
"So we would like to work with the regulators in every one of your countries so that the Russian vaccine is approved on the basis of the post-marketing trials. We will be able to show its efficiency on a large number of people, more than 25,000-30,000 people," Dmitriev noted.
The Russian Health Ministry registered in August the world's first vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19, developed by the Gamaleya Center and produced jointly with the RDIF. Dmitriev has previously said that the fund had received applications from over 20 countries for the purchase of a billion doses of the Russian coronavirus vaccine.
