COVID-19

Russia approves Covid-19 vaccine 'Sputnik V': Why's the world sceptical?

Russia has become the first country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine and it has been named ‘Sputnik V’. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the vaccine was effective and said that one of his daughters had already been inoculated. The vaccine is administered in two doses and consists of two serotypes of a human adenovirus, each carrying an S-antigen of the new coronavirus, which enter human cells and produce an immune response. However, concerns have been raised from several quarters over the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Several countries including the US, Canada and Germany have raised questions over the vaccine and said that vaccine production is not a race. What makes matters murky is that the approval comes even before the start of a larger trial involving thousands of participants, commonly known as a Phase III trial. The World Health Organisation said any stamp of approval on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate would require a rigorous safety data review. So why is the world sceptical about Russia’s ‘Sputnik V’? Watch this video to find out.