RUSSIAN VACCINE - 1 IN 7 HAD WEAKNESS AND RAISED FEVER

 Filenews 15 September 2020

About 14% of volunteers vaccinated with the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine as part of the third phase of clinical trials say they feel weak, have muscle aches and a fever, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Varaska said today.

"More than 300 vaccinated (volunteers), i.e. about 14%, say they feel weak, muscle aches around the clock and in rare cases raise a fever. All this is described in the instructions for use, are the predicted side effects. They typically last one, one and a half days," said Varaska, adding that the vaccine passed a series of clinical and preclinical trials and was developed on a platform that has already been used to develop vaccines.

"The evidence we have on this platform is too much and we can say calmly that this preparation is safe. However, for any medicinal product, which is intended to be widely used, there must be more detailed,  data from its use in a large number of patients who have been diagnosed differently and have different levels of illness," said the Russian Health Minister.

The Russian health minister said that vaccinated volunteers are systematically monitored through a telemedicine centre by highly trained doctors who have access to their medical history, i.e. they know among other things who suffers from chronic diseases. "This allows us to have a full range of data during the third phase of clinical trials," he said.

Mikhail Varaska also announced that production of the Sputnik-V vaccine is proceeding on a project basis and three major pharmaceutical companies in Russia have started production.

At the same time, he added that during this time period, the first batch of the vaccine began to be distributed to all regions of Russia.

The first to have access to the vaccine will be doctors and nursing staff, teachers and workers in other areas who come directly into contact with the world, Varaska said, estimating that in late November to early December large batches of vaccines will be sent, with which not only people belonging to the high-risk groups will be vaccinated, but also widely all citizens.

Source: protothema.gr