It is wrong to say that Ukraine should not buy the Russian coronavirus vaccine for political reasons, as what is important here is first and foremost the health of all citizens. However, there is another problem with the Russian vaccine: the latest data on the vaccine is quite alarming.
Specifically, Russia still has not provided information on the "miraculous cure", and the international community is skeptical regarding Russia's vaccine and its effectiveness.
According to Russian epidemiologists, the vaccine has shown 92% effectiveness, yet only 16,000 volunteers took part in the analysis. At the same time, Pfizer attracted more than 43,000 participants to the trials.
"Further monitoring is needed as the results are compatible with much lower efficiencies - 60% - based on these data," Stephen Evans, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene, said.
The International Vaccine Institute at the UN told Apostrophe that Russia has not developed a vaccine, but a drug that causes antibody production.
"It's not a vaccine; it's a drug that causes the development of antibodies and doesn't have negative impacts or complications. It's not harmful. Who should undergo the third phase? 20,000 participants should be vaccinated and 20,000 should not. Then, it will be pretty clear who's become resistant to the virus," the organization stated.
There have also been several cases when people who had vaccinated with the new Russian vaccine caught the coronavirus again. Of course, no medication provides 100% protection, yet such a frequent re-infection is questionable.