MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/: The preliminary data obtained in the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine trials show that the efficiency of the jab stands at 69.3% after the first component is administered and 96.2% after the second, member of the independent monitoring committee examining the results of the vaccine’s clinical trials Ramil Khabriyev said Thursday.
Earlier, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) reported that the coronavirus vaccine is 95% effective.
"The assessment was conducted in the period between the 14th and the 21st day, or before the injection of the second component, while the second observation group is after the second component is administered. So, if we compare or assess the efficiency as of today, it is calculated and submitted to us, developers and researchers, to be 96.2%," he said at a scientific forum.
Khabriyev explained that the efficiency is calculated as the ratio of the efficiency of the jab between the vaccinated group and those who received placebo. "At a committee meeting, we <…> passed certain decisions, communicated them to all those interested and recommend that they come up with a proposal to change the protocol and make a decision to submit the parameters based on the materials of 20,000 tests soon. [We will study them and later] will make a decision about revealing results (who received the vaccine or placebo - TASS) <…> and will make another assessment. I am completely sure that the data at least won’t be lower than what we had before," he added.
The expert noted that the efficiency before the second component injection was already reaching numbers of up to 70%, which can be even higher after more clarifications and changes take place.
On August 11, Russia became the first country in the world to register a coronavirus vaccine named Sputnik V, which was developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Health Ministry. The injection passed clinical trials in June-July. The post-registration trials of Sputnik V began in Moscow on September 7, volunteers received the first vaccine already on September 9. Overall, the trials include 40,000 people, 10,000 of them had placebo instead of the vaccine.
