Russians Publish Early Coronavirus Vaccine Results

The following 5 steps critical analysis will be based on David's chosen The New York Times article about the new vaccine for the Coronavirus released by the Russians. I have found this article informative and outrageous since President Vladimir Puttin has already approved the vaccine when it is not even in phase three yet, something that a lot of people do not consider is that it needs to be tested in a large group of contestants including with placebo control. 

Description: President Vladimir Puttin approved the “Sputnik V” vaccine against the Coronavirus last month, which received lots of criticism. Puttin launched the word that the vaccine was a complete success since The Sputnik V vaccine “stimulates the immune system by coaxing a person’s cells to make a protein normally found on the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. The researchers loaded the gene for this viral protein into a second virus, called an adenovirus”. The criticism received was due that there were only forty volunteers involved and that is not enough evidence to prove all the side effects.  

Analysis: The article does not rely on lots of scientific opinions to weigh perspectives. It only refers to an article. However, the article provided is enough evidence that the vaccine is yet not ready and Puttin’s release of approval is outrageous and extremely dangerous since we do not know the exact side effects because it was only tested in a small group of volunteers without any control base. There is a reference that other teams are also testing for a new vaccine and how the Russian team is combining two adenoviruses into one vaccine. 

Interpretation: When the Sputnik V vaccine is injected into the arm, the adenovirus slips into muscle cells. It has been genetically engineered so that it cannot make copies of itself or cause illness. But once it delivers the coronavirus gene into a cell, the cell starts making the protein. Before the initial trial with humans, there were trials with hamsters and monkeys but there is a lack of information. The trials done in Russia consisted of only forty volunteers that were given the full vaccine with no place control, they reported that they had mild symptoms, “You expect to have some symptoms — that’s normal,” Dr. Bar-Zeev said. This is a lack of information because on the other hand the comparison done with the Chinese teams is that 382 people were given the full vaccine and 126 were given with placebo. The researchers found that volunteers who received the full vaccine produced antibodies that could block the virus from replicating in cells. To fully demonstrate that the vaccine works, it requires a Phase 3 trial, in which a large number of volunteers are given either a vaccine or a placebo. A Phase 3 trial can also reveal harmful side effects missed by small preliminary studies.

Evaluation: The information seems not to be reliable because it only uses the Lancaster scientific perspective. However, it agrees that the Russian vaccine should not be approved. The information given is quite not reliable since they say words like “few” “most”, without any concrete number. For the forty volunteers, we do not know exactly how many of them had the side effects and the number provided of the immune system resistance is useless since the parameters are not given. Since this information is not given out the comparison of the antibodies is irrelevant. 

Engagement: People ought to be communicated not how effective the vaccine is counting antibodies since it is irrelevant but instead how the side effects of the vaccine will be. Before announcing that the vaccine does demonstrate protection against coronavirus, first, they should try out in a vast group of people to count those side effects and their effectiveness. Phase 3 with 40000 people needs to be accounted for to prove that there are only mild side effects. Phase 3 trials can take months to yield clear results, Dr. Bar-Zeev said, and even then they have to be carefully reviewed before any decision is made about using a vaccine widely.