As Russia registered the 'first' coronavirus or COVID-19 vaccine on August 11 many experts have raised their concerns regarding the safety of the vaccine. A leading respiratory doctor from Russia has resigned over the 'gross violations' of medical ethics, which rushed through the nation's COVID-19 vaccine, as per reports.
Professor Alexander Chuchalin quit the ethics council of Russia's health ministry after making an attack on the new Sputnik V vaccine before the body approving the registration. According to reports, he tried to block the registration on safety grounds but failed before he quit.
Top Russian Doctor Quits Over Safety of Vaccine
He accused the director of Gamaleya Research Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Prof Alexander Gintsburg, and also Prof Sergey Borisevich, a medical colonel and top virologist for vaccine for the Russian army.
As per reports, Chuchalin asked them, "Have you passed all the necessary paths approved by Russian Federation legislation and the international scientific community? Not. This job has not been done. Thus, one of the ethical principles of medicine has been grossly violated - to do no harm. I am depressed by the position of some of our scientists who make irresponsible statements about ready-made vaccines."
However, the exact reason for his resignation has not been given, but the doctor had warned in an interview with Nauka i Zhizn that as ethical reviewers they would like to understand the safety of the vaccine.
Russia Vaccine Effective?
He mentioned as quoted by the Daily Mail, "It is impossible to determine this without weighing all the scientific facts. Therefore, our number one task is to extract scientific data based on evidence-based medicine in order to understand that the action performed by scientists will not harm a person." Chuchalin had also mentioned that it is important to get an idea about the long-term effects of the vaccine.
According to experts around the world, the speed at which Russia approved the vaccine is not safe. They also claimed that the trials were not conducted properly, However, the Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that the vaccine is safe and one of his daughters was also a part of the experiment.
The president mentioned that she is currently feeling well. It will be interesting to see how the vaccine works in the near future as many worry that Russia's vaccine might turn out to be a major disaster.
