After criticism last year for an early rollout, the Russian Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6% effective against the symptomatic Covid-19 and 100% effective against serious and moderate illnesses, according to an interim analysis of the phase 3 trial results of the vaccine.
The preliminary findings were published in The Lancet on Tuesday and are based on data collected from 19,866 participants, of whom about three-quarters (14,964) received two doses of the vaccine and a quarter (4,902) received a placebo.
Sixteen cases of symptomatic Covid-19 were confirmed in the vaccine group 21 days after participants received the first dose of vaccine. Sixty-two cases were found in the placebo group, which equates to an efficiency of 91.6%.
The trial included 2,144 people older than 60 years and a sub-analysis done on this group revealed that the vaccine is well tolerated and has a similar efficacy of 91.8%.
The team also analyzed the efficacy of the vaccine against severe and moderate Covid-19 disease and 21 days after the first dose, no serious or moderate cases were reported in the vaccinated group, while 20 were reported in the placebo group.
Serious side effects were also rare and no one is associated with vaccination. According to the study, most side effects were mild, such as injection site pain, flu-like symptoms and low energy levels.
The analysis contains only symptomatic cases of Covid-19, however, and the authors note that more research is needed to understand the efficacy of the vaccine against asymptomatic Covid-19, transmission, and how long protection may last.
The majority of participants in the trial were also white, and therefore further research is needed to confirm the results in other ethical groups. The trial is also continuing and aims to include a total of 40,000 participants.
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