First COVID-19 vaccine approval brings Sputnik moment, but no Phase III data

11 August 2020

Being able to boast that his country has produced the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine is just what Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered, but it remains to be seen how safe and effective the product is.

The two-dose adenovirus vaccine, which will be called Sputnik V in a throwback to the Soviet Union’s pioneering Cold War satellite program, has been developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute.

But it appears to remain only in Phase I testing, with a Phase III trial yet to begin, according to World Health Organization (WHO) records.

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