Brazil has halted approval of Sputnik V, claiming that a vector virus in the vaccine was not inactive and could cause severe colds. Russia is denying the accusation.
Authorities in Slovakia and Brazil have raised questions about Sputnik VImage: Carol Smiljan/ZUMA Wire/imago images
In Brazil, however, Sputnik V will not receive approval for the time being. According to claims bythe state drug agency Anvisa there are indications that the vector virus "Adenovirus 5" used in the second vaccination is not inactive and can therefore multiply.
This could be dangerous, especially for people with weak immune systems, because if the cold virus used as a carrier was not inactivated, then the patient is virtually directly injected with the pathogen and becomes ill, warned US virologist Angela Rasmussen of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University on Twitter.
Was there sloppiness in manufacturing?
Sputnik V — like the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson product — is a vector vaccine. When used properly, these vector vaccines are very reliable and much less complicated than RNA vaccines because they can be stored at refrigerator temperatures.
In vector vaccination, non-hazardous viruses, such as inactive cold viruses, transport the genetic blueprint for spike proteins into the body. This protein is the mechanism SARS-CoV-2 uses to attach itself to human cells. The body of the vaccinated person recognizes the introduced genetic material as a foreign body and produces antibodies and specific T cells — both of which are important for immune defense.
It is actually standard procedure in vaccine production for the E1 and E3 genes in the vectors to be deleted and therefore be inactive. But this is allegedly not the case with the Sputnik V doses that turned up in Brazil — whether by accident or sloppiness.
Slovakia also stopped vaccine delivery
Back in March 2021, there was a big stir in Slovakia over Sputnik V. An audit by the State Institute for Drug Control SUKL found that the 200,000 vaccine doses delivered were not identical to the Sputnik V vaccine administered in other countries or previously presented in the medical journal The Lancet. "These vaccines have only the name in common," the Slovak controllers summed up.
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Russia calls it 'fake news'
This led to a heated dispute between Russia and Slovakia, whose health minister had to resign. Meanwhile, Russia demanded the return of the delivered vaccines.
Sputnik V producers have also called the latest reports from Brazil "fake news."
"Sputnik V demonstrates the best safety record of any vaccine. Big pharma opponents of Sputnik V are scared of its success, cannot find any weaknesses and are forced to come up with fake news that are easy to refute," it said on Twitter.
According to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is in charge of the distribution of Sputnik V, Anvisa did not conduct any testing of their own, something RDIF stated Anvisa confirmed. The Russian organization also claimed that Anvisa misinterpreted the data they received. The Gamaleya Institute, which carries out quality control of Sputnik V production sites, issued two statements, calling the reports about the alleged failure to inactivate the vector virus a "disinformation campaign" and said that the decision by the Brazilian authorities to stop the vaccination was "of a political nature."
This article was last updated on May 5, 2021, with another statement from the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
The article was translated from German
India's second COVID wave leaves suffering in its wake
India is in mourning as coronavirus ravages cities across the country. More than 300,000 new cases are currently being reported every day, with people pleading for beds and oxygen outside hospitals.
Image: Amit Dave/REUTERS
India sees its darkest days of pandemic
India has added hundreds of thousands of cases in recent days, and the total death toll has surpassed 220,000. Cities are running out of space to bury or cremate the dead.
Image: Danish Siddiqui/REUTERS
COVID sufferers seek medical support at temples
An elderly woman suffering from breathing difficulties due to COVID-19 waits to receive free supplemental oxygen outside a Sikh temple on the outskirts of Delhi in Ghaziabad. Many who are struggling for breath due to COVID-19 have flocked to the temple, hoping to secure some of its limited oxygen supplies.
Image: ADNAN ABIDI/REUTERS
COVID patients turn to informal health services
Hospitals in Delhi and across the country are turning away patients after running out of medical oxygen and beds. Many have put out urgent notices saying they can't cope with the rush of patients. The Sikh temple in Ghaziabad has come to resemble the emergency ward of a hospital. People all across Delhi are seeking and creating makeshift health care spaces.
Image: ADNAN ABIDI/REUTERS
Doctors treating patients wherever possible
A health care worker tests blood oxygen levels of a COVID patient inside an ambulance in the eastern city of Kolkata. With people being forced to wait many hours to receive treatment, doctors have been treating people in cars and taxis parked in front of hospitals.
A couple wait inside a rickshaw until they can enter a COVID-19 hospital for treatment in the western city of Ahmedabad. Social media and local news footage have captured desperate relatives begging for oxygen outside hospitals or weeping in the street for loved ones who have died waiting for treatment.
Image: Amit Dave/REUTERS
India in mourning
A young boy at a crematorium mourns the loss of his father, who died from COVID-19. In the last month alone, daily COVID cases in India have increased eight times over — and deaths, 10 times. Health experts have said the actual death toll is probably far higher than the official numbers.
Image: Adnan Abidi/REUTERS
India's younger population also hit
This 35-year-old woman is suffering from breathing difficulties due to COVID-19. Like many others, she is waiting in front of a hospital to receive oxygen support. Scientists are concerned that a more infectious "double mutation" of the virus is spreading in India.
Image: ADNAN ABIDI/REUTERS
Second COVID wave 'supremely contagious'
The family of a COVID victim mourn together outside a mortuary of a hospital in New Delhi. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said India's current infection wave is "particularly dangerous" and that people were falling sick more severely and for longer.
"It is supremely contagious, and those who are contracting it are not able to recover as swiftly."
The unfolding crisis is most noticeable in India's overwhelmed graveyards and crematoriums. Burial grounds in the capital New Delhi are running out of space. In other cities, glowing funeral pyres light up the night sky. "The virus is swallowing our city's people like a monster,'' said Mamtesh Sharma, an official at Bhadbhada Vishram Ghat crematorium in the central city of Bhopal.
Image: Adnan Abidi/REUTERS
Vaccine drive falling behind
India's vaccination program is lagging, with only 10% of the country's population having received one dose, and 1.5% having received both doses. Indians aged 18 and older are now eligible for a vaccine. The United States has said it would send raw materials for vaccine production to help strengthen India's capacity to manufacture more AstraZeneca vaccine.
