According to Russian officials, the country’s scientists are working towards getting a COVID-19 vaccine approved by August 10, less than two weeks away. However, the short timeline has raised significant concerns over safety, effectiveness, and shortcuts taken by the health department in its development. The vaccine was created by the Gamaleya Institute, which is in Moscow.
The vaccine will need to be approved for public use, and Russia then plans to administer the drug to healthcare workers first. The news is controversial as Russia has not released scientific data on its vaccine testing. Other experts state that the push for a vaccine is amid political pressure from the Kremlin to depict Russia as a leader in scientific development. Other critics claim that the human testing of the vaccine trials is incomplete. Most global developers have stated that they are still months away from a vaccine that is ready to be administered to the public due to lengthy trial phases and testing requirements.
