Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 is about 90% effective against COVID-19, its developers said Tuesday.
The vaccine, which Russia has actively marketed abroad, had already been tested by researchers with an efficacy of almost 92% against the original strain of the coronavirus.
Denis Logunov, deputy director of the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow, which developed Sputnik V, said the efficacy figure against the Delta variant was calculated based on digital vaccine and medical records, the RIA news agency reported.
Russian authorities have blamed the recent rise in COVID-19 cases on the infectious Delta variant, which they say accounts for about 90% of all new cases, and the reluctance of many Russians to get vaccinated.
According to Alexander Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya Institute, countries around the world have sounded the alarm about the Delta variant.
Russia is experiencing the worst moments of the pandemic, thanks in large part to the Delta variant. Some 151,000 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in the country, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko announced on Tuesday, warning that the situation is “tense” since there are only 182,000 beds available.
“There are 182,000 beds and 151,000 patients are being treated,” he said at a government meeting devoted to the new increase in infections due to the Delta variant of the pandemic.
According to the minister, on the other hand, vaccination finally accelerated in Russia in a context of distrust of the population towards the vaccines developed in the country.
Russia, with a population of about 144 million, has approved four domestically manufactured vaccines and has recorded about 5.5 million infections since the start of the pandemic.
In fact, Russia, the most mourning country in Europe with 134,500 deaths according to its official balance, is the second with the most deaths in the last 24 hours, behind India (907) and ahead of Colombia (648).
Many regions, facing a third epidemic wave that has swept across Russia since mid-June, have made vaccination mandatory for certain population groups.
“We see a significant increase in the vaccination rate,” Murashko said, adding that 23 million Russians, out of 146 million, have received at least one dose, but without specifying the inoculation growth rate that this represents during a given period.
He stated that there are currently enough doses available in the country to immunize 32 million people.
In Moscow, the epicenter of this third wave, the situation continues to be “extremely difficult”, said the mayor, Sergey Sobianin, who reported on almost 15,000 beds occupied – 75% of the beds available in the Russian capital – considering this level “extremely high, given that an important part (of the patients) are in a serious or very serious situation, in intensive care ”.
The Moscow authorities reimposed teleworking for some sectors, created a health card to go to restaurants or decreed compulsory vaccination for some workers, due to the distrust of their citizens.
But, like they did during the last wave in December, they rule out a strict lockdown to preserve the economy.
Increase in infections in Europe and reconfinement in Australia
Vaccines are the most effective buffer against the dangerous Delta variant, present in at least 85 countries, which is spreading rapidly among people who have not yet been immunized.
Until this Tuesday, the new coronavirus left at least 3 million 932,561 dead and more than 181 million infected in the world, according to the count of the AFP agency.
In Europe, after two and a half months of progressive reduction in the number of infections, coronavirus cases are on the rise again and an average of 56,800 cases per day is recorded, 21% more than a week ago.
The proportion of COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant more than doubled in Germany within a week, and is likely to gain more ground versus other variants, a senior health official said on Monday.
In Australia, after months with hardly any local infections, it once again confined around ten million citizens to contain the increase in COVID-19 cases, especially of the Delta variant.
The city of Sydney, confined since Saturday, has been joined by Perth, Darwin, Brisbane and several areas of the state of Queensland.
“They are difficult decisions. There are confinements in the big cities because the virus enters with arrivals from abroad,” declared Annastacia Palaszczuk, the prime minister of this state.
With information from AFP and Reuters
