Coronavirus world map: tracking the global outbreak

Russians uncertain

Since the summer,  Russia’s Health Ministry has been promising a national vaccination campaign was imminent, but it has been slow to roll out.   

President Vladimir Putin said one of his daughters was among the first to get the vaccine, although the Kremlin acknowledged this week that Putin himself has not. 

A spokesperson said it would be irresponsible for the head of state to take an «uncertified» vaccine, although the distinction the official was trying to make between a registered vaccine and a certified one was unclear.     

A woman holds a small bottle labelled with a ‘Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine’ sticker and a medical syringe in front of a Russia flag in this illustration taken Oct. 30. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

The mayor of Moscow has said authorities plan to set up 300 vaccination centres in the month of December and the plan is to get as many people in the capital inoculated as possible.

Independent public opinion surveys suggest many Russians remain uncertain about the vaccine and whether they will actually take it. In early November, the polling group Levada Centre reported 59 per cent of Russians may refuse to get vaccinated.

On Russian state TV, however, criticism or probing questions about any of the assumptions underlying the government’s claims about Sputnik V have largely been absent.     

As is standard on TV talk shows, the discussion is framed in geopolitical terms.

Their 60 Minutes program (no relation to the U.S. program of the same name) even cited a CBC News report by The National as purported proof of Western bias, with the host suggesting it was an example of «active propaganda» against Sputnik V.   

Multiple vaccines on the horizon?

Most vaccine candidates that make it to preclinical testing never make it to market (about 94 per cent fail, a 2013 study found). But in this case, with so many different vaccines under development, there may still end up being multiple vaccines for the coronavirus, possibly using different strategies, Saxinger predicts.

There are a number of potential advantages if that happens:

• They’d be using different ingredients and manufacturing facilities and wouldn’t be competing for resources — allowing for more vaccine production.
• Different vaccines have different pros and cons. Some vaccines require more doses to be effective than others, while ease of manufacturing, testing and distribution varies.
• Some vaccines may be more suitable for some populations than others, due to factors such as age or genetics.

Stephen Barr is associate professor of microbiology and immunology who is part of a COVID-19 vaccine development team at Western University in London, Ont. He noted that the «best» vaccine in the end may not be best for everybody. «But the second one might be, for those that don’t respond, right? So it’s always good to have these backup vaccines as well or vaccines that can be used in parallel around the world.»

Many teams are working on a COVID-19 vaccine using technologies that have been in development for decades but have never yet been approved for wide-scale human use, such as DNA, RNA and non-replicating viral-vector vaccines. Many of those candidates are considered very promising, garnering huge amounts of funding and billions of preorders from some countries. One has even already received emergency approval in the U.K.

Статистика заражений коронавирусом по регионам России на 23 декабря 2020

Регион
Заражено
Вылечено
Погибло
% Смертей

Москва
756586+5652
582772+5228
10613+73
1.4%

Санкт-Петербург
212074+3749
123518+2617
7074+75
3.34%

Московская область
142744+1540
101262+1234
2724+5
1.91%

Нижегородская область
65805+498
58669+415
1516+13
2.3%

Свердловская область
55341+402
47658+405
1376+16
2.49%

Ростовская область
48547+379
39193+384
1887+28
3.89%

Красноярский край
43907+331
37550+448
1551+21
3.53%

Воронежская область
43110+391
41415+379
986+16
2.29%

Архангельская область
40358+393
31086+388
400
0.99%

Ханты-Мансийский автономный округ — Югра
39508+225
35424+228
510+5
1.29%

Иркутская область
38385+269
33591+286
1124+15
2.93%

Ульяновская область
34057+286
30969+245
435
1.28%

Мурманская область
33943+276
31120+273
602+3
1.77%

Волгоградская область
33215+274
31494+277
419+6
1.26%

Саратовская область
33143+270
28490+198
370+7
1.12%

Ставропольский край
33130+244
29702+268
680
2.05%

Хабаровский край
32359+345
27774+508
198+2
0.61%

Челябинская область
32223+305
22988+33
470+9
1.46%

Алтайский край
31194+215
28612+243
781+13
2.5%

Ямало-Ненецкий автономный округ
30716+178
23013+218
312+2
1.02%

Самарская область
28946+307
26684+292
540
1.87%

Омская область
28139+241
25517+238
812+9
2.89%

Республика Коми
28072+281
24972+369
534+9
1.9%

Пермский край
27985+335
22098+374
1028+20
3.67%

Приморский край
27379+240
19356+176
339+6
1.24%

Оренбургская область
27310+176
23845+173
305+3
1.12%

Новосибирская область
26632+161
22454+233
902+7
3.39%

Краснодарский край
26224+188
17696+124
822+13
3.13%

Забайкальский край
25261+249
23048+251
359+1
1.42%

Республика Саха (Якутия)
24841+193
22287+190
363+5
1.46%

Кемеровская область (Кузбасс)
24595+147
21455+176
451+2
1.83%

Республика Карелия
24575+374
17385+354
144+3
0.59%

Пензенская область
24451+198
19989+129
298+2
1.22%

Республика Бурятия
24164+203
21544+112
552+5
2.28%

Кировская область
23662+243
16966+241
220+1
0.93%

Томская область
22925+189
18387+204
206
0.9%

Республика Крым
22463+353
16938+264
444+8
1.98%

Республика Дагестан
22202+158
19061+120
1078+5
4.86%

Тюменская область
22084+166
20703+159
190+4
0.86%

Ленинградская область
21997+224
19795+233
207+7
0.94%

Брянская область
21528+207
18948+38
216+2
1%

Тульская область
21181+207
18552+189
671+14
3.17%

Ярославская область
20774+190
19453+183
159+4
0.77%

Вологодская область
20563+374
15796+368
342+9
1.66%

Тверская область
20370+235
15045+306
435
2.14%

Белгородская область
20338+188
18452+139
216+5
1.06%

Псковская область
20037+416
10295+258
96
0.48%

Орловская область
19936+175
17856+209
247+2
1.24%

Ивановская область
19762+179
14710+226
444+12
2.25%

Калужская область
19690+173
18392+165
153+3
0.78%

Курская область
19328+182
17512+174
275+3
1.42%

Удмуртская Республика
17909+206
14363+199
363+1
2.03%

Республика Башкортостан
17741+161
13928+82
128+2
0.72%

Астраханская область
17584+183
11996+93
348+5
1.98%

Владимирская область
17134+184
15411+171
421+2
2.46%

Рязанская область
17041+136
15551+131
134+5
0.79%

Новгородская область
16635+212
12041+142
98
0.59%

Тамбовская область
16402+153
14585+312
166+2
1.01%

Республика Хакасия
16200+180
13162+178
230+12
1.42%

Калининградская область
16084+203
12793+274
155
0.96%

Смоленская область
15762+157
11990+192
314+7
1.99%

Чувашская Республика
15454+125
13790+118
443+12
2.87%

Кабардино-Балкарская Республика
15004+101
12966+131
251+1
1.67%

Амурская область
14761+140
13175+135
105
0.71%

Липецкая область
14737+166
11145+102
218+7
1.48%

Сахалинская область
14568+148
11348+114
14
0.1%

Карачаево-Черкесская Республика
14396+91
12820+84
38
0.26%

Республика Тыва
14328+64
13083+48
157
1.1%

Костромская область
14126+112
10475+110
211+1
1.49%

Республика Калмыкия
13953+110
11436+44
190+4
1.36%

Республика Алтай
13240+57
12597+60
83+3
0.63%

Республика Мордовия
12790+86
10495+84
83
0.65%

Республика Татарстан
12480+102
10555+22
171+1
1.37%

Республика Ингушетия
11424+88
9505+29
130+3
1.14%

Республика Северная Осетия — Алания
11306+88
10038+78
85
0.75%

Курганская область
11149+105
9847+101
152+3
1.36%

Республика Адыгея
10313+90
8251+97
80
0.78%

Камчатский край
9483+77
8365+69
82
0.86%

Республика Марий Эл
8775+53
7786+46
113
1.29%

Чеченская Республика
7587+146
3546+77
88
1.16%

Магаданская область
6686+38
6171+42
61
0.91%

Севастополь
6094+83
5667+110
207+5
3.4%

Еврейская автономная область
3595+27
2485+30
62
1.72%

Ненецкий автономный округ
754+3
678
—
0%

Чукотский автономный округ
499+1
432
4
0.8%

Показать все

Статистика по России

Data extraction tools and sources

To ensure the latest information is available, the landscape will be updated twice a week (Tuesday and Friday, 17:00 CET) by searching, gathering and cross-checking data from multiple sources such as the Cochrane vaccine mapping tool, Pubmed, ClinicalTrials.gov  and from a network
of researchers and industry for new candidate vaccines and screening registered trials for clinical information.  Where data is missing, we either do not add any information (blank cells) or we supplement information gathered from press or public
releases.  We welcome your feedback to help us update or make necessary changes, please note any updates will only be done twice a week.

Vaccine Contracts

Desperate for relief from the worst pandemic in a century, countries have struck deals to secure vaccine access. By our count, 8.30 billion doses have already been set aside.

That would be enough to cover more than half the world’s population (most vaccines use two doses), if the shots were distributed evenly. That, however, hasn’t happened. Rich countries have accumulated extensive supply deals, and ultra-cold storage requirements make some vaccines difficult to deliver to far-flung places. Some countries may have to wait until 2022 or later before supplies are widely available.

AstraZeneca Plc’s two-dose shot is the early leader, with pre-purchase agreements that would cover 1.47 billion people—more than twice as many as any other candidate. In total, Bloomberg has identified more than 90 agreements.

Not every vaccine is certain to work. Bloomberg has removed from the tally 51 million doses reserved by Australia for a homegrown vaccine that failed in clinical trials on Dec. 10. A day later, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline Plc announced a delay in their clinical trials after suffering their own setback.

Strategies to secure vaccines varied widely. The U.S. struck unilateral deals for all of its supply. Dozens of countries will get vaccines through Covax, a consortium backed by the World Health Organization to ensure equitable vaccine distribution. An arrangement brokered by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim will deliver cheap vaccines throughout most of Latin America.

Deals were included in Bloomberg’s analysis only if they had information on which company will make the vaccine, how many doses are covered, and which countries are likely to receive it. Billions of vaccines will likely be manufactured outside of such agreements. India, which has deals to manufacture 2.2 billion doses, plans to send vaccines to other countries in its region.

Shots Across the Globe

A global network of publicly disclosed vaccine deals

• Vaccine approved or on track to be approved
• Failed in trial

Note: The Latin America bloc covers all countries in the region except Brazil. The European Union bloc represents the 27 countries of the European Union. The Covax agreement extends to most countries in the world, including many in Africa that wouldn’t otherwise be covered. Jurisdictions without a population figure, such as Somalia and Syria, have been omitted. The Middle East bloc covers U.A.E., Egypt, Bahrain and Jordan. Partnerships involving local manufacturers are listed under the original vaccine developer.

Coronavirus vaccines are coming to market at a record pace, shaving years off the typical development time. That speed has been financed in part by rich countries like the U.S., whose Operation Warp Speed program helped subsidize development and manufacturing of half a dozen novel vaccines.

Wealth has moved those countries to the front of the line. It’s also allowed some to hedge their bets by securing doses from a variety of manufacturers. Canada, with its population of 38 million, has contracts with at least seven companies to supply enough vaccines for 190 million people—and that doesn’t include vaccines it agreed to buy through the Covax consortium.

Russia and China aren’t striking the same sorts of deals. Instead, they’ll rely on domestically produced vaccines, such as the Sputnik V shots made by Moscow-based Gamaleya Center or those made by China’s state-owned pharmaceutical giant, Sinopharm. While China doesn’t disclose how many doses the government orders from local manufacturers, it’s assumed that those companies will provide as much as the population needs.

World Map of Vaccine Contracts

Canada reserved more than four times what’s needed to inoculate its population

Note: Map only shows publicly disclosed allocations for countries with available population data. Some countries will produce vaccines domestically under terms that haven’t been disclosed. Calculations for population covered take into account the number of doses required by each vaccine.

Note (Dec. 20): A previous version of this story incorrectly reported China’s total doses administered as people vaccinated.

More Coverage From Bloomberg

• Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter
• Follow the Covid Vaccine Tracker Storythread
• The Covid Resilience Ranking
• Stories about the pandemic from Bloomberg News
• Tracking the U.S. Recession and Recovery
• How the U.K. Will Distribute Pfizer, BioNTech Doses

What you can do

Experts’ understanding of how the Covid-19 works is growing. It seems that there are four factors that most likely play a role: how close you get to an infected person; how long you are near that person; whether that person expels viral droplets on or near you; and how much you touch your face afterwards. Here is a guide to the symptoms of Covid-19.

You can help reduce your risk and do your part to protect others by following some basic steps:

Keep your distance from others. Stay at least six feet away from people outside your household as much as possible.

Wear a mask outside your home. A mask protects others from your germs, and it protects you from infection as well. The more people who wear masks, the more we all stay safer.

Wash your hands often. Anytime you come in contact with a surface outside your home, scrub with soap for at least 20 seconds, rinse and then dry your hands with a clean towel.

Avoid touching your face. The virus can spread when our hands come into contact with the virus, and we touch our nose, mouth or eyes. Try to keep your hands away from your face unless you have just recently washed them.

Here’s a complete guide on how you can prepare for the coronavirus outbreak.

Globally, there have been over 4.10 crore confirmed cases of COVID-19. More than 11.27 lakh people have died so far.

Moneycontrol News
October 22, 2020 / 05:09 PM IST

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, several vaccine candidates are in various stages of trials. Here are all the latest updates on coronavirus vaccines and their progress.
1 | AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial volunteer has died, Brazil health authority says: Brazilian health authority Anvisa said on October 21 that a volunteer in a clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University died, stating it had received data from an investigation into the matter. The regulator said testing of the vaccine would continue. It provided no further details, citing medical confidentiality of those involved in trials.
2 | A big portion of COVID-19 vaccines likely to be manufactured in India, says Gates Foundation CEO: A very large portion of COVID-19 vaccines are likely to be manufactured in India through the country’s strong and robust private sector partners, said Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman in an interview to news agency PTI. «I think India is doing everything it can right now with the resources at hand, but we are all hopeful that next year some of these vaccines should come out…and our expectation is that a very large portion of these are likely to be manufactured in India through the strong and robust Indian private sector partners and then that will be the key area to focus on in the next phase of the COVID pandemic,» he said.
3 | The US likely to have enough COVID-19 vaccines for all vulnerable Americans by year-end, says official: The United States is likely to have enough safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines available to inoculate the most vulnerable Americans by the end of 2020, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said. The US government is «cautiously optimistic» that one or two vaccines, likely from Pfizer Inc or Moderna Inc, will be available by the end of the year and can begin to be distributed to Americans, officials said during a news conference.
4 | Vaccine in India might be available by December, says report: The government expects a COVID-19 vaccine by December if the clinical trials are successful, a senior health ministry official said, according to a report by Mint. It is difficult to say when the vaccines will be available. It depends on how the trials go and when the vaccines get regulatory approval. But the earliest it is expected in late December or January,» the official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Moneycontrol News

Disclaimer

These landscape documents have been prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) for information purposes only concerning the 2019-2020 global of the novel coronavirus. Inclusion of any particular product or entity in
any of these landscape documents does not constitute, and shall not be deemed or construed as, any approval or endorsement by WHO of such product or entity (or any of its businesses or activities). While WHO takes reasonable steps to verify the
accuracy of the information presented in these landscape documents, WHO does not make any (and hereby disclaims all) representations and warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose (including any of the aforementioned
purposes), quality, safety, efficacy, merchantability and/or non-infringement of any information provided in these landscape documents and/or of any of the products referenced therein. WHO also disclaims any and all liability or responsibility
whatsoever for any death, disability, injury, suffering, loss, damage or other prejudice of any kind that may arise from or in connection with the procurement, distribution or use of any product included in any of these landscape documents. 

The COVID-19 candidate vaccine landscape

The COVID-19 candidate vaccine landscape database compiles detailed information on COVID-19 vaccine candidates in development.

The landscape is updated regularly — twice a week (Tuesday and Friday, 17:00 CET).

The landscape:

• provides summary tables of COVID-19 vaccine candidates in both clinical and pre-clinical development;
• provides analysis and visualization for several COVID-19 vaccine candidate categories;
• tracks the progress of each vaccine from pre-clinical, Phase 1, Phase 2 through to Phase 3 efficacy studies,
• provides links to published reports on safety, immunogenicity and efficacy data of the vaccine candidates;
• includes information on key attributes of each vaccine candidate; and
• allows users to search for COVID-19 vaccines through various criteria such as vaccine platform, dosage, schedule of vaccination, route of administration, developer, trail phase and clinical endpoints being measured in Phase 3.

United States

The number of known coronavirus cases in the United States continues to grow. As of Wednesday morning, at least 18,284,700 people across every state, plus Washington, D.C., and four U.S. territories, have tested positive for the virus, according to a New York Times database, and at least 323,000 patients with the virus have died.

Reported cases in the United States

Average daily cases per 100,000 people in the past week

← Fewer

More →

Ala.AlaskaAriz.Ark.Calif.Colo.Conn.Del.Fla.Ga.HawaiiIdahoIll.Ind.IowaKan.Ky.La.MaineMd.Mass.Mich.Minn.Miss.Mo.Mont.Neb.Nev.N.H.N.J.N.M.N.Y.N.C.N.D.OhioOkla.Ore.Pa.R.I.S.C.S.D.Tenn.TexasUtahVt.Va.Wash.W.Va.Wis.Wyo.P.R.

Sources: Local governments; The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University; National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China; World Health Organization.

Note: The map shows the share of population with a new reported case over the last week. Sources: State and local health agencies and hospitals.

See our page of maps, charts and tables tracking every coronavirus case in the U.S.

After case numbers fell steadily in April and May, cases in the United States are growing again at about the same rapid pace as when infections were exploding in New York City in late March. But the hotspots are now mainly spread across the southern and western parts of the country.

The New York Times is engaged in an effort to track the details of every reported case in the United States, collecting information from federal, state and local officials around the clock. The numbers in this article are being updated several times a day based on the latest information our journalists are gathering from around the country. The Times has made that data public in hopes of helping researchers and policymakers as they seek to slow the pandemic and prevent future ones.

Read more about the methodology and download county-level data for coronavirus cases in the United States from The New York Times on GitHub.

Может ли настоящая вакцина продаваться в интернете прямо сейчас?

Доктор Барбара Минцес, доцент Центра и фармацевтической школы Чарльза Перкинса Сиднейского университета, призывает потребителей проявлять осторожность, ведь покупая любые лекарства по интернету, нет никакой гарантии получить именно то, за что вы заплатили деньги. Что касается именно вакцины от COVID-19, однозначный ответ – НЕТ, продажа этого лекарства по интернету невозможна, и вот почему:

Что касается именно вакцины от COVID-19, однозначный ответ – НЕТ, продажа этого лекарства по интернету невозможна, и вот почему:

Главное, совершенно непонятно как наказывать торговцев подделками вакцины. Ведь помимо обмана в финансовом плане, совершенно неясно что именно получит покупатель в пузырьке. В итоге люди, поверившие в этот развод, будут думать что они защищены от COVID, хотя это не так.

Будьте бдительны, не гонитесь за подозрительными лекарствами от коронавируса, которые продают в интернете. На 100% вас хотят попросту обмануть. [По материалам Vice]

iPhones.ru

Ни у одной страны её ещё нет, а у наркодилеров — уже есть.

Микк Сид

Пишу обо всём, что интересно и познавательно — гаджеты, события, репортажи. Увлекаюсь игрой на барабанах, меломан со стажем.

Positive results

Fast forward to this week and news from Sputnik’s developer, the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, of very positive results from a much larger data sample.   

Russia’s vaccine has 91.4 per cent efficacy from an analysis of more than 18,000 people, said a release on the Sputnik V website. The vaccine’s efficacy rose to 95 per cent after 42 days.     

Plus, at roughly $20 US per person, Gamalyea says the Russian vaccine is one of the cheapest on the market, making it an attractive option for poorer countries with large populations.

Like the vaccine developed by Oxford University and its partner AstraZeneca, the Russian vaccine uses human adenovirus vectors, or common cold genes, to trigger an immune response in the body. An initial shot is followed by a booster three weeks later.

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine arrives at Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, on Nov. 19. (Matyas Borsos/Hungarian Foreign Ministry/Reuters)

The news about the results prompted a change in tone from many Western vaccine experts. 

«The data  compatible with the vaccine being reasonably effective,» said Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

«These results are consistent with what we see with other vaccines, because the really big message for global health scientists is that this disease  is able to be addressed by vaccines.»

Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading, concurs.

«I see no reason to doubt it ,» Jones told CBC News in an interview.    

«I agree that their initial results caused consternation, but I don’t think it’s because they weren’t valid. They were released a bit soon.

«I think it’s going to be a useful vaccine.»

A laboratory assistant holds a tube with Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine at the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition in Budapest on Nov. 19. (Matyas Borsos/Hungarian Foreign Ministry/Reuters)

Their positive assessments are based on the knowledge that the adenovirus delivery method behind the Gamaleya-made vaccine has proven successful over and over again.

What was unclear was whether the COVID-19 virus would be resistant, but Evans says the other drug companies’ positive results strongly suggest the Russian vaccine will likely perform well, too.

«We now have four vaccines that have some efficacy , which is way beyond what we have ever had for an HIV or a malaria vaccine,» said Evans.

Lots of Canadian candidates

As mentioned earlier, Canada currently has at least eleven vaccine candidates under development, with Canadian involvement in the development of some others. Saxinger said that maximizes the impact of the expertise we have, from work on diseases such as Ebola, SARS and MERS.

All are behind the global frontrunners in development, but the most advanced, Medicago’s, has been preordered by the federal government.

Michael Houghton, the University of Alberta professor leading that university’s vaccine development team, says some of the COVID-19 vaccines under development in Canada may be useful as boosters later on, as they may be cheaper than the earliest COVID-19 vaccines approved.

The R&D Timeline

Bloomberg is tracking the development of nine of the globe’s most promising vaccines. A total of six vaccines are now available for public use, in limited quantities, in dozens of countries.

Nations have poured billions of dollars into developing new vaccine technologies, testing them in thousands of volunteers, scaling up manufacturing, and then bringing them to market in record time.

None of these shots, on its own, is enough to inoculate a global population of some 7.8 billion people. But together they represent humanity’s best chance of ending a scourge that has claimed more than 1.7 million lives and triggered global economic calamity.

Global Effort to Stop Covid

The Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine has now been approved in countries across North America, Europe and the Middle East, where vaccinations begin this week. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the shot from Moderna were both found to reduce coronavirus infections by 95% in trials of tens of thousands of volunteers.

Follow the Vaccines

Other countries have gotten a head start on vaccinations. China and Russia authorized their own shots in July and August, before they’d been fully tested. Since then, they’ve vaccinated more than a million people.

The Global Vaccination Campaign

More than 2.4 million shots have been administered around the world

Note: Data gathered from government websites, press conferences, public statements and Bloomberg interviews. Some countries may report national totals separately from their interior jurisdictions, so numbers for countries and their jurisdictions may not always match.

How does a vaccine go from development to approval?

Typically, it takes an average of more than 10 years for a vaccine to get from pre-clinical development (including animal testing) through three phases of clinical (human) trials to market registration.

The process has been fast-tracked for COVID-19. The first human vaccine trials began in March, just two months after the virus and disease were identified. And different phases of human trials are being run in an overlapping fashion instead of one at a time — for example, Phase 2 might begin just a few weeks after the start of a six-month Phase 1 trial.

Still, officials, including the World Health Organization, have reassured the public that no steps will be skipped. That’s why Russia drew fierce criticism when it announced in mid-August that it was granting regulatory approval to a vaccine developed by Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology after less than two months of human testing, with only two incomplete Phase 1 trials registered with the WHO. (Russia later said the approval was a «conditional registration certificate» that requires additional clinical trials.)

It’s up to each country’s regulators to review trial results and approve a vaccine for use or not. A vaccine may get emergency use authorization before receiving formal approval. Canada’s approval under the interim order means a mass immunization program can begin before full aprroval is granted.

Question of trust

Ultimately, he says whether a country chooses to buy the Russian-made vaccine comes down to a question of whether they have confidence in the science behind it and trust the regulators who approved it.

The Russian vaccine gets treated more skeptically, said Evans, because the processes in the United States and Europe are far more open and transparent than they are in Russia.

«We do not know how carefully their trials are monitored and how carefully they are reported. We do not know that,» he said.  

«But the countries that are buying it are buying it on trust that the Russians have produced something.»

Enrico Bucci, an Italian biologist who was part of the original group of scientists questioning the early Russian results, is among those who continue to believe that the Russian developers have not been sufficiently transparent about their data.

For example, he says the claim of 91.4 per cent success is based on just 39 people in the 18,000-person sample contracting COVID-19.

«The sample is too low to claim any percentage of efficacy,» Bucci told CBC News.

Furthermore, he said, it’s not clear where these 39 people came from, how old they were and whether the results from trials in one country were mixed with those from another location.

The Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine — which reported a roughly 70 per cent success rate — has been subjected to similar criticisms about how data from its trials was presented, and its developers have now agreed to run new studies.

So far, Hungary is the only member of the European Union to sign up for the Russian vaccine, although Russian media reports that 50 nations have either already signed deals for the vaccine or are in the process of negotiating them.   

On Friday, Russia announced a partnership with Indian pharmaceutical company Hetero to produce 100 million doses of the vaccine by the end of 2021.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine combats the coronavirus in a similar way to the Russian vaccine. (REUTERS)

Canada has signed agreements with five vaccine manufacturers, but the list does not include Sputnik V.

Gamalyea’s initial estimates that Russia would be able to produce 200 million doses of Sputnik V by the end of next month turned out to be wildly optimistic. The health ministry now says it may be able produce two million doses, at best.