Russia announces world’s first Covid vaccine

The world is battling deadly Coronavirus which has infected and killed millions of people from across the globe. Many countries including India is working on creating a vaccine for Covid-19 or the novel Coronavirus. On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a Coronavirus vaccine, first of its kind in the world. Called ‘Sputnik V’, Putin claimed that the vaccine has already been tested on his own daughter.

Putin added that he is glad that Russia could produce the vaccine which can help other countries too. But experts from many countries took to their social media to express doubts on using the vaccine without completing its phase 3.

According to Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund which finances the vaccine project, phase 3 of the project will begin this week. Industrial production will begin in September. At least 20 countries have pre-ordered for the vaccine which is likely to be manufactured in billions of doses.

The World Health Organization (WHO) had already stated that Covid vaccine introduced by any country would be tested in detail before approval.
Meanwhile, US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that it is important to have a transparent data in order to prove safety of the vaccine.

More than 20 million people from across the globe have been infected by Covid out of which most are senior citizens. At least eight lakh people have lost their lives. USA, Brazil and India are the top three countries infected badly by the virus.