Moscow, November 24 (BNA) Russian President Vladimir Putin said, on Wednesday, that he had taken an experimental nasal vaccine against the emerging coronavirus, three days after receiving a booster dose.
Russia is facing its worst wave of infections and deaths since the pandemic began and is struggling to overcome widespread vaccine hesitation, the Associated Press said.
Putin was vaccinated with Sputnik V, the COVID-19 vaccine developed domestically in Russia, in the spring. On Sunday, he said he received a booster dose of Sputnik Lite, a single-dose version of a jab, and said he wanted to participate in testing the nasal version of Sputnik V.
Denis Logunov, deputy director of Russia’s state-funded Gamaleya Center that developed Sputnik V, told Putin on Sunday that the nasal vaccine has not yet undergone clinical studies and is currently being tested “mostly off-label” – on center staff.
According to established scientific protocols, the vaccine will need several trial stages, including those involving thousands of people, to prove that it is safe and effective for use.
Last month, the Russian Ministry of Health gave the regulatory green light to conduct early trials of the nasal form of Sputnik V among 500 volunteers.
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