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Coronavirus pandemic

Sputnik V trials on people over 60 may be completed this week

On August 11, Russia became the first country worldwide to register a vaccine against the coronavirus which was named Sputnik V

MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Trials of the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus on volunteers over 60 years of age may be completed by the end of this week, Russian Healthcare Minister Mikhail Murashko said in an interview with the Russia-24 TV channel.

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"Now they are already being completed, these are the last days of clinical trials of a vaccine on individuals over 60 years of age. We hope that at some point after [December] 23rd - 24th the trials proper will be over, the documents will be assessed by experts and a review of indications will take place," he said.

On August 11, Russia became the first country worldwide to register a vaccine against the coronavirus which was named Sputnik V. The preparation was developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Healthcare Ministry. It passed clinical trials in June-July. Post-registration trials began in Moscow on September 7, the first vaccine was administered to volunteers on September 9. In all, 40,000 people participate in the program, with 10,000 of them receiving a placebo instead of the vaccine.

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