Sputnik V, Russia's experimental COVID-19 vaccine is 92% effective at protecting people from coronavirus, according to interim trial results, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Wednesday.
Russia became the first country in the world to register a COVID-19 vaccine in August. Developed by Gamaleya Research Institute and the Russian defence ministry, the vaccine is currently under late-stage trial in Moscow.
The interim results are based on data from the first 16,000 trial participants to receive both shots of the two-dose vaccine, the country's sovereign wealth fund said.
The so-called Phase III trial of the shot developed by the Gamaleya Institute is taking place in 29 clinics across Moscow and will involve 40,000 volunteers in total, with a quarter receiving a placebo shot, Reuters reported.
The chances of contracting COVID-19 were 92% lower among people vaccinated with Sputnik V than those who received the placebo, the RDIF was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"We are showing, based on the data, that we have a very effective vaccine," said RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev.
Russia's announcement follows swiftly on from results posted on Monday by vaccine developers Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, who said their shot was also more than 90% effective.
The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology and is designed to trigger an immune response without using pathogens, such as actual virus particles.
The Sputnik V vaccine is designed to trigger a response from two shots administered 21 days apart each based on different viral vectors that normally cause the common cold: human adenoviruses Ad5 and Ad26.
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