Health

Late-stage trial shows Russian Covid-19 vaccine to be highly effective

Madrid, Feb 2 (efe-epa).- Provisional date from the phase III trial of Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, suggests that a two-dose regimen offers 91.6% efficacy against symptomatic infections, a protection that rises to 91.8% for adults older than 60.

The preliminary results, published by The Lancet, a leading medical journal, are based on analysis of data from nearly 20,000 participants, of whom three-quarters received the vaccine and a quarter of them received a placebo.

The trial included 2,144 participants older than 60 years, and the efficacy of the vaccine was 91.8% in this group. The vaccine was well tolerated, and safety data on 1,369 of these older adults revealed that the most common adverse effects were flu-like symptoms and local reaction.

Hungary on Tuesday received its first 40,000 doses of the Russian vaccine, making it the first European Union member to use the jab, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said.

Budapest recently agreed to purchase 2 million doses of Sputnik V from Moscow, enough to vaccinate a million people, the minister added. EFE-EPA

ngg/mn/mg

Related Articles

Back to top button