Coronavirus vaccine trial in Russia shows promising results with immune response, study claims

Results of coronavirus vaccine trials in Russia have shown an antibody response within three weeks in all participants tested, according to findings released Friday.

“The vaccine is safe, well tolerated, and induces strong humoral and cellular immune responses in 100 percent of healthy participants," the researchers said of a vaccine, called Sputnik V, in a study published in the journal The Lancet on Friday.

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According to the published report, two forms of the vaccine were analyzed, frozen for large-scale use, and lyophilized (freeze-dried) to be delivered in hard-to-reach areas of the world. The researchers from the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology said they used two different injections for the vaccine using adenoviruses, which are common viruses often associated with cold-like symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“We designed a COVID-19 vaccine with two different adenoviral vectors (recombinant Ad26 [rAd26] and recombinant Ad5 [rAd5]), both carrying the gene for SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (rAd26-S and rAd5-S), and we implemented a prime-boost regimen," the study authors stated in the report.

The researchers found a positive immune response against Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in all the participants who received the vaccine, and in some cases a better response than those who recovered from the actual virus, according to the study release.

“IgG responses were elicited in all participants, with geometric mean titres significantly higher than those reported in people who have recovered from COVID-19," the authors said.

The authors also found that “antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 glycoprotein and neutralizing antibodies increased significantly at day 14 and continued to increase throughout the observation period. Specific T-cell responses peaked at day 28 after vaccination,” according to the published report.

T-cells, which are part of the immune system, help identify a foreign invader of the body and trigger an attack, health experts told Fox News.

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The early Russian trials were highly criticized for receiving government approval last month after only being tested on a few dozen people before being administered widely, according to The Associate Press.

In this second phase, however, study authors reported that side effects included pain at the injection site, hyperthermia, headache, muscle and joint pain and muscle weakness.

“Most adverse events were mild and no serious adverse events were detected," researchers said.

Phase three of the clinical trial is currently planned, and will involve 40,000 volunteers from different risk and age groups.

Infectious disease experts in the United States told Fox News these results are encouraging.

“This is another piece in the puzzle to develop a successful Covid-19 vaccine. The results in this study mimic many other preliminary vaccine trial data and show safety and efficacy in eliciting a good immunological response," said Dr. Aaron Glatt, chair of the Department of Medicine and chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in New York.

“As with all the other studies at this stage, they do not prove that they will be effective in preventing COVID-19 but the results are certainly encouraging. The next steps in all of these preliminary trials is to study the vaccine in larger patient populations who are naturally being exposed to COVID-19 in their environment," he added.

Asked for a comment about the vaccine, the World Health Organization referred Fox News to remarks about vaccines made during Friday’s press meeting by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said: “Going forward, vaccines on COVID-19, we have a good number of promising ones. They will only be used when they are found to be effective and safe – that’s what I would like to assure the world.”