“Sputnik V” is losing power – Kommersant FM
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Sputnik V no longer protects against coronavirus. It has completely stopped protecting against COVID-19, Alexander Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya Center, the developer of the drug, said in an interview with Gazeta.ru. According to him, the coronavirus pandemic is still not over. At the same time, the effectiveness of Sputnik V began to noticeably decline in mid-2022, and the new version of the vaccine can be widely used no earlier than spring, the scientist admitted. But why did Sputnik V stop working? So what can you do now to protect yourself from infection? Vladimir Rasulov found out.
The premiere domestic coronavirus vaccine, according to its creators, began to lose its potency last summer. Then new strains of COVID-19 appeared, and the effectiveness of Sputnik V first dropped by eight and then by 20 times. In January 2023, the “omicron” variant began to circulate throughout the country, and the indicator completely dropped to zero, said the head of the Gamaleya Center, Alexander Gintsburg.
The virus contains the so-called S protein, which forms spikes in its shell that resemble a crown. Hence, by the way, the name. With the help of these spikes, COVID-19 attaches to human cells, and the person gets sick. The vaccine prevents such proximity, but until the virus itself changes noticeably, says candidate of biological sciences, geneticist Kirill Volkov:
“There have been four or five versions of coronavirus. The protein has changed quite significantly. Antibodies that are produced after using Sputnik V cannot block and bind well to the S-protein that exists on existing strains of coronavirus. There are no longer those amino acids that need to be contacted.”
But if Sputnik V is essentially useless against new strains of coronavirus, then what options remain? At the height of the pandemic, in addition to this vaccine, Russia produced several other types: CoviVac from the Chumakov Center and EpiVacCorona from the Vector Center.
However, judging by the website of the mayor of Moscow, neither one nor the other drug can be found in the city. But, as before, you can get vaccinated with Sputnik V for free at vaccination points in city clinics. However, there is another option – “Convasel” from the St. Petersburg Institute of Vaccines and Serums. But questions also remain about the effectiveness of this drug, says Ilya Yasny, head of scientific expertise at the LanceBio Ventures venture fund:
“The problem is that Convasel, unlike Sputnik V, has not undergone a third phase study; it is not known at all whether it protects or not. That is, the type of this vaccine itself, how effective it is, compared to Sputnik, which is the only Russian vaccine that has undergone a large phase 3 study. All the others were put on the market without them.”
Meanwhile, the incidence of coronavirus in Russia is gradually increasing. According to the operational headquarters, the figure from October 9 to October 15 increased by 6.5% compared to the previous week to almost 17 thousand cases. At the same time, Kommersant FM’s interlocutors agree that the virus has become less dangerous for most people, and the severity of the disease is no worse than a regular ARVI. However, without an effective vaccine, the elderly and people with chronic diseases are at significant risk, and only restrictions can protect them, says Mikhail Kagan, Honored Doctor of Russia, leading scientific editor of the vrachu.ru service:
“The current variants of Omicron, although their pathogenicity has decreased, still pose a serious danger to the elderly suffering from chronic diseases. These people should not attend mass events, should not travel on public transport, should wear masks, and ventilate the premises. This is a necessary measure, because they cannot now be protected by vaccination.”
Meanwhile, the Gamaleya Center hastened to reassure: clinical trials of the updated vaccine should end on December 10, and it will probably go into civilian circulation by March 2024. The virus, however, can mutate again within five months.
Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Kommersant FM”.
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