Laying the groundwork for more global trust and approval, Russia's coronavirus vaccine candidate, Sputnik-V, had produced an antibody response in all participants in an early-stage clinical trial, according to a data report recently published in The Lancet medical journal.
The positive results came from the conclusion of two trials of two similar candidates that were conducted back in June and July that involved 76 healthy participants. The study showed that all participants had developed antibodies to the novel coronavirus with no serious side effects. Russia had licensed the potential vaccine for domestic use back in August, before a Phase III trial of the drug could be properly conducted and without publishing any data.
"Large, long-term trials including a placebo comparison, and further monitoring are needed to establish the long-term safety and effectiveness of the vaccine for preventing COVID-19 infection," The Lancet stated.
Yet, there are some doubts surrounding the effectiveness of Russia and China's CanSino Biologics'
The two vaccines use a modified form of adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) as a vector to express the spike protein found on the novel coronavirus to trigger an immune system response to build antibodies against COVID-19 in effort to stop infection.
According to Reuters, researchers have experimented with Ad5-based vaccines against other infectious diseases, but none of the shots are widely users because much of the world's population already has antibodies against Ad5. Those already established antibodies can cause an individual's immune system to attack the vector instead of responding to the coronavirus, thus making the vaccine less effective.
Several other coronavirus vaccines are being developed using modified adenoviruses, but different strains. AstraZeneca
Nevertheless, the World Health Organization has stood firm that the global health agency will not endorse a COVID-19 vaccine until it is proven to be both safe and effective.
Projected Outcomes
The United States's coronavirus death toll could double by the end of the year to 410,000, with daily death rates as high as 3,000 pre day in December, according to grim new projections from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (I.H.M.E.).
The U.S. coronavirus projected death rate model developed by the I.H.M.E. has been used in the past by federal officials, including the White House Coronavirus Task Force to anticipate resources needed for the level of widespread infection. The model had previously predicted roughly 318,000 deaths attributed to the coronavirus by December, but projections have been updated based on new information and the changing climate surrounding the infectious outbreak.
The I.H.M.E. stated that deaths could be reduced by as much as 30% if Americans diligently wore facial covering in public, something that is on the decline in much of the population.
For the world's outlook, the institute projects that global coronavirus deaths will triple to 2.8 million by January 1, 2021.
