Russian vaccine warning - "Weak vaccine worse than none"

Stand: 21.08.2020 | Lesedauer: 3 Minuten

Russia's corona vaccine is met with skepticism internationally. The material was developed too quickly and too little tested, is the allegation. However, there are also states that see this less closely.

Source: WELT / Sandra Saatmann

Russia was the first country to ever approve a corona vaccine. However, according to scientists, a remedy that is only partially effective could affect the composition of the virus - with potentially significant consequences.

The accelerated approval of a corona vaccine in Russia is fueling concerns among experts about a mutation of the virus. They warn that vaccination that is only partially effective could promote a mutation. Because incomplete protection could cause the virus to evade the existing antibodies, said Ian Jones, professor of virology at Reading University in the UK. This could result in strains that completely evade vaccination. "In this sense, a weak vaccine is worse than no vaccine at all."
 

COVID-19 IN THE BRAIN

"The body has no chance of getting rid of the viruses there"

Viruses, including the novel Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus, are known to be constantly mutating. Usually this often has little or no impact on the risk they pose to people. However, some scientists fear that the "evolutionary pressure" on the pathogen through the use of a vaccine that may not be completely protective could worsen the situation.

Vaccine-induced virus mutations are rare, says Jones. The more effectively a vaccine blocks a virus, the lower the risk that the virus will spread in the body and “learn” how to evade the antibodies. “But when it does penetrate and replicate, there is selection pressure to dodge the antibodies generated by the inefficient vaccine. And you don't know what the result will be. "

RUSSIAN VACCINE

What you need to know about corona vaccinations

Last week, Russia became the first country in the world to approve a corona vaccine - without a large clinical efficacy study. Both the developers of Sputnik-V and the Russian government nevertheless consider the drug to be safe. Two months of clinical trials on humans in small studies have shown that it works. The results of these studies have not yet been published.

"Don't know if the vaccine is effective"
Many scientists were therefore skeptical and warned against using the vaccine before a successful, large-scale efficacy study. “You should make sure the vaccine is effective. But we don't really know, "says Kathryn Edwards, professor of pediatrics and vaccine expert in the Infectious Diseases Department at the American Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Dan Barouch, an expert at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, pointed out that the mutation rates for coronaviruses are much lower than for other viruses such as HIV. But there are many possible downsides to using a vaccine that doesn't work. According to scientists, a similar evolutionary pressure to mutate can be observed in bacterial pathogens, which, when treated with antibiotics, can develop and adapt in order to evade the drugs, i.e. develop resistance.

CORONA SERUM

The myth of the run on Russia's vaccine

Russia announced on Thursday that it would start a major clinical trial of the crucial third phase with the vaccine with over 40,000 participants in the coming week. The data are to be made available to the World Health Organization (WHO). At the same time, however, it should already be administered to people from high-risk groups, such as medical specialists - before the results of this large study are available.