The Sputnik V vaccine “ceased to protect” from COVID-19

The Russian vaccine “Sputnik V” no longer protects against coronavirus infection – due to the emergence of new strains. This was stated in an interview with Gazete.ru by the head of the Center named after Gamalea, which developed the vaccine, Alexander Ginzburg.

According to Ginzburg, the center is now conducting clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine adapted to a new variant of the Omicron coronavirus strain, known as the Kraken. That version of “Sputnik”, which was developed in 2020, according to Ginzburg, “has simply ceased to be defended.”

The director of the center noted that the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, so there was a need to update the antigenic composition of the vaccine. At the same time, he admitted that by March of next year, when the new vaccine is expected to enter civilian circulation, it may no longer be relevant, since the appearance of new strains is quite likely.

Earlier it was reported that the “Sputnik V” vaccine has practically disappeared in private clinics in Moscow.

The Gamalea Center reported on the development of a vaccine against the coronavirus as early as the summer of 2020. It was one of the first vaccines in the world that began to be used to fight the pandemic. Tens of millions of people have been vaccinated with it in Russia. The vaccine was supplied to a number of foreign countries, but never received WHO certification.

The incidence of COVID-19 has been increasing worldwide since the summer, and it was reported that the number of patients in Russia is also increasing. Since the mortality from the disease is now significantly lower than at the beginning of the pandemic, most of the existing restrictions have been lifted in almost all countries. In a number of Russian regions, including Moscow, however, “coronavirus” bans on holding mass events are still in effect. In practice, we are talking about the prohibition of street actions, in which the authorities are not interested.