10 thousand Russian vaccines for Albania, what do we know about Sputnik V: Accepted by 40 countries, but not approved by the European Medicines Agency

Albania has received 10 thousand anti-COVID vaccines, Sputnik V. According to Prime Minister Edi Rama, 10 thousand vaccines are a gift from the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Muhammed Bin Zayed.  

Earlier, the way was opened for receiving Russian and Chinese vaccines. Through a Normative Act, the Minister of Health, Ogerta Manastirliu and the Minister of Reconstruction, Arben Ahmetaj have been given the opportunity to negotiate with countries that produce vaccines.

But what do we know so far about the Spitnik V vaccine?

Russia launched clinical trials for the COVID ‑ 19 vaccine in June 2020.

In less than two months, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that the Gamaleya National Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology has registered the world's first vaccine against COVID ‑ 19 for use.

The third phase of testing, which usually involves thousands of people and lasts for several months, did not even begin in that period. Therefore, many health experts have warned that the data have not been conclusive and have questioned the safety of the vaccine.

It has not been long and Russia has announced that it will increase vaccine testing and include 40,000 volunteers. In conclusion, the third phase of testing has started in September 2020.

After the vaccination of some health workers, mass vaccination started in December 2020, despite the fact that the vaccine is still in the testing phase. Two weeks later, Belarus became the first foreign country to adopt the Russian vaccine.

In February 2021, the research journal The Lancet published a study showing that the Sputnik V vaccine was 91.6 percent effective. It also says the vaccine is safe and can protect against the virus.

Although Sputnik V has been approved (to some extent) in more than 40 countries so far, it has not been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Despite this, Hungary registered the vaccine for use on January 21, becoming the first country in the European Union to do so. In early March 2021, an agreement for 2 million doses of this vaccine was signed with Slovakia, another member of the European bloc.

On March 4, 2021, the European Medicines Agency announced that it had begun the process of reviewing the Sputnik V vaccine.

How is the Sputnik V vaccine different from other vaccines?

Sputnik V can be stored in a standard refrigerator at 2-8 degrees Celsius, which makes it easier to store compared to other vaccines - the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine should be stored at -70 degrees Celsius, Moderna vaccine at -20 degrees Celsius.

According to The Lancet, the effect of the vaccine is 91.6 percent - slightly less than the effect of Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, but it has a higher rate of efficacy than AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. However, some scientists believe that the effect of vaccines is difficult to compare, as they have been tested at different stages of the pandemic, and have not been tested against each other.

Unlike other vaccines, the first dose of Sputnik V vaccine is not identical to the second dose. They differ, as each uses different viruses as vectors: one dose of uncomplicated virus Ad26 in the first dose and another dose of virus also uncomplicated Ad5 in the second dose. The Gamaleya Center believes this can help strengthen the immune system.