Sputnik V Is 92% Effective Even in People Over 60: The Lancet

The scientific journal The Lancet published a preliminary analysis of the third phase of clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine showing that the Russian product is 91.8 percent effective in protecting people over 60 years of age.

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These clinical trials were conducted with 20,000 participants, 25 percent of whom received a placebo. The study included 2,144 people over the age of 60. Safety data from 1,369 of them revealed that the most common adverse effects were flu-like symptoms and local reaction.

These were consistent with most of the adverse effects reported in the other age groups. Serious adverse events were rare in both the placebo group (0.4 percent) and the vaccine group (0.2 percent). None of these adverse events were related to vaccination. During the study period, four people died but their deaths were not related to the vaccine.

Ian Jones (University of Reading) and Polly Roy (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) commented that the development of the Russian vaccine was unduly criticized as the results clearly demonstrate "the scientific principle of vaccination."

Sputnik V is a vaccine that includes two adenovirus vectors (rAd26-S and rAd5-S) that have been modified to express the SARS-CoV-2 S protein. As a result, these vectors cannot replicate in human cells or cause disease.

The Lancet recalled that this technique has been used previously and its safety has been confirmed in several clinical studies.

So far, the use of Sputnik V has been authorized in countries such as Hungary, Algeria, Serbia, Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran.