CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

Russia’s COVID-19 Vaccine Creates Antibodies With No Bad Side Effects: The Lancet

The journal said bigger and longer trials are needed before the potential coronavirus vaccine can be considered safe for mass use.

Russia’s potential COVID-19 vaccine produces a strong antibody response and appears to cause no serious negative side effects, according to the medical journal The Lancet. A study was carried out involving two 42-day trials, each including 38 healthy adults. According to The Lancet, the trials did “not find any serious adverse effects among participants,” and “confirmed that the vaccine candidates elicit an antibody response.” The two trials showed 100 percent of participants developing antibodies to the coronavirus. However, the journal cautioned that bigger and longer trials, including a placebo comparison, are needed before the potential vaccine can be considered either safe or effective. “Further investigation is needed of the effectiveness of this vaccine for prevention of COVID-19,” the study concluded. The vaccine is named Sputnik-V in honor of the world’s first satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957.