By Adedapo Adesanya
Russia has become the first country in the world to register the coronavirus vaccine.
The country’s president, Mr Vladimir Putin announced this on Tuesday, August 11.
The vaccine is named Sputnik V, a reference to the first orbital satellite, which was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957 and set off the global space race.
The vaccine was developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center and has officially been registered with the Russian Health Ministry, Mr Putin told a meeting with members of the government in the Russian capital, Moscow.
“Of course, what counts most is for us to be able to ensure the unconditional safety of the use of this vaccine and its efficiency in the future. I hope that this will be accomplished.”
The Russian President added that the vaccine trials yielded positive results, with all volunteers having built up immunity to the coronavirus, adding that his own daughter had been inoculated with the Gamaleya vaccine.
The vaccine is based on adenovirus and contains dead COVID-19 particles which cannot multiply and are therefore safe, said Mr Alexander Gintzburg, head of the Gameleya National Research Center.
However, it can provoke an immune response such as high temperature to the introduction of foreign substances, he added.
Since the coronavirus first appeared in Wuhan, China in December 2019 it has spread to at least 188 countries and territories, infecting over 20.2 million people globally with a casualty number of 739,761 deaths with more than 13 million already recovered.
The US is leading with the most confirmed infections with 5.09 million, followed by Brazil with over 3 million cases and India with 2.27 million, according to the latest data.
Nigeria is the 49th most infested country with 46,867 cases recovered since February with 950 deaths, with 33,346 people discharged.
Aduragbemi Omiyale