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Coronavirus pandemic

Sputnik V has same effectiveness for all age groups — developer

The vaccine’s effect may last two years or even longer

© Kirilll Kukhmar/TASS

MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. Russia’s Sputnik V anti-coronavirus vaccine has demonstrated the same level of effectiveness in all age groups, said Alexander Gintsburg, the director of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology that developed Sputnik V.

"Sputnik V has demonstrated the same level of effectiveness in all age groups. At first, there were doubts that it might possibly be less effective for people aged 60 and older. As their immune systems are less active, they can produce a weaker [immune] response. However, nothing of this kind [happened]. This preparation works well for elderly people aged 60, 70 and 80," he said in an interview on the Solovyev Live YouTube channel on Saturday.

In his words, all vaccinated persons demonstrated good immune response and high tolerability of the vaccine.

According to Gintsburg, the vaccine’s effect may last two years or even longer.

Mass vaccination of the adult population against the novel coronavirus in Russia began on January 18. Russians can currently be vaccinated free of charge with one of the two registered vaccines - Sputnik V or EpiVacCorona.

On August 11, Russia became the first country in the world to register a coronavirus vaccine named Sputnik V, which was developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Health Ministry. The injection passed clinical trials in June-July. The post-registration trials of Sputnik V began in Moscow on September 7, volunteers received the first vaccines already on September 9. Overall, the trials were supposed to include 40,000 people, 10,000 of them received placebo instead of the vaccine.

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