One in 7 volunteers has complained of side effects, including weakness and muscle pain after taking Russia’s experimental COVID19 vaccine Sputnik V.
This has been confirmed by Russian health minister Mikhail Murashko.
More than 300 out of the announced 40,000 volunteers have been vaccinated with Sputnik V so far, the state-run TASS news agency quoted Murashko as saying.
“Approximately 14% have small complaints of weakness, muscle pain for 24 hours and an occasional increase in body temperature,” TASS quoted Murashko as saying on Wednesday, according to Moscow Times.
The Russian minister said the symptoms after being injected with the anti-Coronavirus vaccine “level off” by the next day.
Also read: Russia agrees to sell 100 million doses of COVID19 vaccine Sputnik-V to India
“The complications are described in the instructions and are predictable,” the minister said, according to TASS.
Volunteers are expected to receive a second shot of the adenovirus-based viral vector vaccine within 21 days of the first shot.
The Sputnik V is yet to complete large-scale clinical trials.
With the approval from the Russian government last month, Sputnik V has become the first COVID19 vaccine to be cleared for human use anywhere in the world.
The final clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine began in Moscow earlier this month.
However, scientists have cautioned against the use of any shot that has not passed full safety and efficacy checks.
The Russian health minister’s comments came after the country’s sovereign wealth fund said it has reached an agreement with pharmaceuticals major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories for clinical trials and distribution of Sputnik V in India.
But the process is yet to be cleared by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said it will supply 100 million doses of the vaccine to Dr Reddy’s after regulatory approval in India.
On Wednesday, RDIF reiterated that the vaccine is safe.
“The Sputnik V vaccine, which is based on well-studied human adenoviral vector platform with proven safety, is undergoing clinical trials for the Coronavirus pandemic. Deliveries could potentially begin in late 2020 subject to completion of successful trials and registration of the vaccine by regulatory authorities in India,” a statement issued by RDIF said.