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Coronavirus pandemic

About 85% of those vaccinated with Russia’s Sputnik V have no side effects - expert

Head of the Gamaleya Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology Alexander Ginzburg added that 15% of those vaccinated report redness in the area of the vaccine shot and a slight headache that goes away within 24 hours

© Yegor Aleyev/TASS

MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Some 85% of those vaccinated with Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine do not have any side effects, head of the Gamaleya Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology Alexander Ginzburg said on Thursday.

"Based on the three stages of trials, we have documented the following: 85% of those vaccinated have no side effects. <…> The Sputnik V vaccine is not dangerous for those who have used it," he said during a briefing timed to the delivery of the vaccine to Argentina.

The expert added that 15% of those vaccinated report redness in the area of the vaccine shot and a slight headache that goes away within 24 hours. "The most unpleasant thing that can happen is a fever of up to 38 degrees for two days, which can be alleviated with one paracetamol pill," he informed.

Russia registered the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world under the name of Sputnik V on August 11. The vaccine was developed by the Gamaleya Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology. Post-registration testing of the vaccine began in Moscow on September 7, with first volunteers getting the first vaccine shot on September 9. Overall, the trials should have included 40,000 people, with 10,000 receiving a placebo dose instead of the vaccine.

Argentina is the first Latin American country to register the Sputnik V vaccine on its territory based on the outcomes of the Russian clinical trials. The vaccine was approved by Argentina’s regulatory bodies without additional trials carried out on the country’s territory.

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