As the world continues to struggle to fight the coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak, Russia formally started production of what the nation is claiming to be the world's first vaccine for the novel coronavirus called Sputnik V, this week. The vaccine that was created by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, was fast-tracked for getting an approval.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund has made a promotional video for the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine and posted on Twitter. The 38 seconds clip that starts with the Earth getting swallowed by a giant coronavirus spore. Then, a Sputnik satellite similar to Sputnik 1 can be seen breaking through the virus and flies out into space. The tweet reads, "Nicely done: Promo for the Russian Sputnik V vaccine." The video is a part of a press kit including graphics, photos and one other video that shows the production of the vaccine, which can be found on the official website.
Sputnik V for Mass Vaccination
The Sputnik V, which is formally called 'Gam-COVID-Vak', has already started production. On Sunday, the director of the Gamaleya Institute, Alexander Ginzburg mentioned that the mass vaccination is going to start in a month's time, as reported by Sputnik News. Russia is expecting to produce 500 million doses of the vaccine in the coming year.
Sputnik V was tested on 76 volunteers in Russia before it got registered on August 11. Many experts around the world have raised questions regarding the safety of the vaccine, however, Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that the vaccine is safe for use.
The deadly virus outbreak has created a major stir around the world in recent times infecting more than 21.4 million people globally and claiming the lives of over 771,000 people worldwide in more than 170 nations. Scientists around the working are working to find a cure for the disease. The experts claim that a vaccine is expected by the first quarter of 2021. Till now, the US is the worst affected nation followed by Brazil and India.
