Russia said on Monday that it is ready to give a booster shot to prevent omicron coronavirus variant If necessary and the Kremlin said the market reaction to the new stress was emotional and not based on scientific data.
The heavily mutated Omicron variant sent investors under cover on Friday and the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was likely to spread internationally, a too high risk The infection has increased which can have serious consequences in some places.
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Russia was quick to develop its own two-dose Sputnik V vaccine last year and has also deployed a one-shot Sputnik Light vaccine, both of which have demonstrated high efficacy in trials but still lack WHO approval. are waiting.
In addition, manufacturers have told Reuters they have had difficulty producing a second dose of the vaccine, hindering efforts to boost production at home.
But Russia said on Monday that its vaccine, developed by the Gamalaya Institute, would work against Omicron and would be ready to produce hundreds of millions of booster shots if not.
Read | WHO says global risk related to Omicron variant ‘very high’
“The Gamalya Institute believes that Sputnik V and Light will neutralize Omicron because they have the highest efficacy compared to other mutations,” said Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. [RDIF], which markets the vaccine overseas, said via the official Sputnik V Twitter account.
“In the unlikely case, a modification is required, we will provide several hundred million Sputnik Omicron boosters by February 20, 2022,” Dmitriev said.
Earlier, the Kremlin said that more data was needed before drawing conclusions about the new version.
“We see that the reaction to the markets is emotional, it is not based on scientific evidence because there is none yet,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “The whole world is trying to figure out just how dangerous it is.”
Read | Omicron variant has over 30 mutations in spike protein, may bypass vaccines: AIIMS chief