Russia to Be First to Approve COVID-19 Vaccine

Russian officials said they are working toward a date of August 10 or earlier for approval of the COVID-19 vaccine, aiming to become the world’s first country to have a novel coronavirus vaccine approved.

Russian officials including the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev, revealed the information, reports TASS.

The Russian officials are going to approve the COVID-19 vaccine, which has been created by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute, according to CNN. 

"Russia will have got there first," it quoted Dmitriev as saying. "Our scientists focused not on being the first but on protecting people."

The second phase of clinical tests of an anti-coronavirus vaccine developed by the Gamalei National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology is nearing completion, the press service of the Russian Health Ministry said on Monday.

The vaccine’s state registration will be addressed after the tests are over.

The Center’s director Alexander Gintsburg said earlier that it was planned to finish the second phase of vaccine tests before July 28. Later, chief of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund Dmitriev said that the second phase would be over on August 3.

According to data provided by Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Russia’s confirmed Covid-19 cases have reached to 822,060 as of Wednesday while 13,483 people have died of Covid-19.