Russia has registered what it claims is the world's first COVID-19 vaccine, President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday during a nationwide video conference.
The global race for a COVID-19 vaccine has intensified amid a pandemic affecting over 20 million people worldwide and claiming more than 736,000 lives. Currently, about 200 COVID-19 vaccines are under development across multiple countries, with around 30 in advanced stages. Notable candidates include Moderna's from the United States and the University of Oxford's from the UK, both eyeing commercialization soon.
Millions of lives potentially saved, alongside significant geopolitical advantages for the first nation to deploy an approved vaccine.
Russia has been advancing multiple vaccine candidates for months. Reports from Bloomberg earlier revealed that several Russian business leaders and officials accessed an experimental version as early as April.
Progress accelerated recently. In the televised conference, Putin confirmed the registration of Russia's "first" coronavirus vaccine.
“This morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus was registered,” he stated. “I know it's quite effective and provides long-lasting immunity.” He noted that his daughter had received it, experiencing only a mild fever.
Mass production is slated to begin January 1st, per Russia's National Drug Registry under the Ministry of Health, with millions of doses possible soon.
Russia reported 4,945 new cases recently, totaling 897,599 infections. Per Johns Hopkins University data, it ranks as the fourth hardest-hit country globally by cases.
Meanwhile, Indonesia has begun phase III trials of China's Sinovac Biotech candidate, CoronaVac, on over 1,600 volunteers—one of the few in late-stage testing.
It's also under trial with 9,000 participants in Brazil, the world's fourth-most affected nation with over three million cases and more than 100,000 deaths.
