Vaccines are on the waiting list – Kommersant FM

In the largest private clinics in the capital it is impossible to get vaccinated against coronavirus. The drugs “Sputnik V” and “Sputnik Lite” were not available in any major medical center, RBC noted. Vaccination is refused even in those institutions whose official websites indicate that the procedure is available.

“Kommersant FM” was convinced of this:

The incidence of coronavirus in Russia began to rise in mid-summer. The indicator increased in 74 regions of the country, the operational headquarters reported. According to his data, as of mid-September, about 5 thousand cases were registered in Moscow. Almost 700 people are hospitalized. Seven patients died.

But, as reported by the Moscow Department of Health, the transfer of COVID-19 vaccines to private clinics stopped in early May, when the WHO canceled the pandemic status. With a new wave of morbidity, patients again want to get vaccinated, but doctors no longer trust Sputnik, says Candidate of Biological Sciences, geneticist Kirill Volkov:

“In my opinion, Sputnik is not a very effective vaccine. It may have prevented a severe course, but it did not protect against infection with coronavirus and its manifestation in a moderate form. But this data is not epidemiological, not statistical, but a personal opinion.

Interestingly, they tried to release Sputnik in a form for administration through the nasopharynx. To be honest, I still have not seen any data on the effectiveness of the nasal method, and this could prevent infection. Everyone who was completely unstable to the virus, unfortunately, died in the first two years of the pandemic. The part of humanity that was resistant to COVID-19 survived. Now the coronavirus most likely will not reach such proportions.”

At the end of July, the developer of Sputnik, the Gamaleya Center, announced that it was conducting clinical trials of a new version of the vaccine that protects against the current strains that are currently circulating in the world. But another developer, the St. Petersburg Institute of Vaccines and Serums, registered its own drug, Convasel, last spring.

According to the manufacturer, it is effective against any mutation of COVID-19, its protection lasts up to a year, which is twice as long as Sputnik. In addition, one injection is enough, whereas the Gamaleya Center’s drug requires two doses. However, despite the whole package of advantages, there are still few orders for Convasel, noted acting director of the St. Petersburg Research Institute Evgeniy Makovsky:

“All vaccines produced by Sputnik were created on the basis of the surface S-protein, in which mutations constantly occur, as a result of which new strains and viruses appear. Our vaccine, on the other hand, is based on an internal nucleocapsid protein that does not mutate with each strain.

And regardless of what strain is currently spreading around the world, our vaccine is always relevant. There is an order for it, since it is not constant throughout the year; at a calm pace, we are now producing probably a million doses a month. If we have a need, the state order increases, then production will increase to 3 million. From 2023, the free supply of vaccines by the state has been stopped, and each region, in particular, must purchase these drugs itself. I think that auctions for the purchase and execution of these supplies are now being formed.”

At the height of the pandemic, Russia produced several vaccines against coronavirus, but in the spring of 2022, due to lack of demand in the regions, the Chumakov Center, which produced CoviVac, and the Novosibirsk State Scientific Center for Virology and Biotechnology “Vector”, which developed EpiVacCorona, suspended their production ”

Only Sputnik and Konvasel remained on the market. The latter was released in a small batch – about 180 thousand doses were shipped throughout the country. However, many doctors do not consider the lack of specific vaccines against coronavirus a problem at all. You need to be vaccinated against infections that affect the respiratory system, advises Marina Berezhnaya, head of the emergency department of the European Medical Center:

“Now we need to get vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcus. This is not a replacement. COVID-19 is the lungs – everyone knows that pneumonia develops. Additional pneumococcal flora can very easily attach to lungs weakened by coronavirus. The same goes for the flu. That is, this is the vaccine that makes us protected from other dangerous infections that may appear during COVID.”

Now in Moscow, according to the Department of Health, you can get a free vaccination against coronavirus infection, as before, at vaccination points in city clinics or in GUM.

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Svetlana Belova