Russia publishes vaccine results

Experts from around the world pushed back last month after Russia approved a COVID-19 vaccine without sharing any details about how the country’s researchers tested it. On Friday, the makers of the vaccine published a report in Lancet saying the experimental drug known as Sputnik V appeared to be safe and effective.

What new details did the researchers provide? The report claimed all 40 participants in the second phase trials developed antibodies to the coronavirus within three weeks. But the researchers noted that they followed the participants for only 42 days, the sample size was small, and they used no placebo or control vaccine. Part of the trial included only men, and most of the participants were in their 20s and 30s. Russian health authorities said last week that they are starting double-blind, placebo-controlled advanced trials of the vaccine on 40,000 participants.

Dig deeper: Read WORLD medical correspondent Dr. Charles Horton’s analysis of the race toward a vaccine.