Volunteers Getting Russian Coronavirus Vaccine Show No Adverse Health Effects - Medics

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th June, 2020) There are no adverse health effects among volunteers that a Russian coronavirus vaccine is being tested on, an anesthesiologist at the Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital said.

"We regularly conduct medical examinations of volunteers of the first and second groups who received the vaccine against the coronavirus, COVID-19. They are doing well, no active complaints. Their temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiration rate are all within normal range. There are currently no adverse effects reported after administering the vaccine," anesthesiologist Oleg Chikhlyaev told Krasnaya Zvezda, the official newspaper of the Russian Defense Ministry.

According to Chikhlyaev, the volunteers will continue to receive blood tests and will be checked for immunity to the novel coronavirus.

According to Krasnaya Zvezda, the first group of 18 volunteers was vaccinated on June 18, while the second group comprising 20 volunteers received the coronavirus vaccine in the booster form on June 23. Clinical trials are expected to be wrapped up by the end of July.

The coronavirus vaccine developed by Russia's Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology jointly with the Russian Defense Ministry will give people protection against the virus for a period of over two years, the director of the national research center, Alexander Gintsburg, told Krasnaya Zvezda last week.

Gintsburg explained that the vaccine is given twice with the same gene injected using different carriers, which allows to not just get protective immunity, but to acquire it for a longer period of time.