Russia’s novel vaccine, developed and produced by Gameleya Research Institute, in collaboration with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has already been made available to the public, after the end of Phase I/II trials. However, scientists have been simultaneously conducting phase III trials, testing it on 40,000 people. The move came after the vaccine faced a lot of backlash from global authorities, who criticized the roll out as ‘unsafe’.
While Russian authorities were quick to rule out problems related to safety concerns, the officials are now widely testing the vaccine to make it appealing to the public.
Russia is also seeking to enter into a strategic alliance with India to manufacture and scale-up production of the vaccine under testing.