Russia-developed vaccine, Sputnik V, has been declared safe as it elicits antibody response with no serious adverse events in small human trials, as per the preliminary results published in The Lancent journal on September 4, 2020. Results from a total of random 76 people, involving healthy adults aged 18–60 years, prove the vaccine formulations have a good safety profile detected over 42 days and induce antibody responses within 21 days. The trials which took place in two hospitals in Russia, and were open-label and non-randomised also suggest that the vaccines produce a T cell response within 28 days and aim to stimulate both arms of the immune system—antibody and T cell responses.
The authors of the study obtained convalescent plasma from 4,817 people, who had recovered from mild or moderate Covid-19, so as to compare post-vaccination immunity with the natural one.
The study shows when adenovirus vaccines enter people’s cells, they deliver the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein genetic code, which causes cells to produce the spike protein, which helps teach the immune system to recognise and attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Therefore, a booster vaccination is provided to form a powerful immune response against SARS-CoV-2.
The findings of the study are based on two trials—one studying a frozen formulation of the vaccine, and another a lyophilised, i.e., freeze-dried formulation of the vaccine. The frozen formulation is envisaged for large-scale use in existing global supply chains for vaccines, while the freeze-dried formulation was developed for hard-to-reach regions as it is more stable and can be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius.
Courtesy: Indian Express