Scores of members of Russia’s business and political elite have been given early access to an experimental vaccine against COVID-19, people familiar with the effort said, as the country races to be among the first to develop an inoculation.
Top executives at firms including aluminum giant United Co Rusal, as well as billionaire tycoons and government officials, began getting shots developed by the state-run Gamaleya Institute in Moscow as early as April, said the people, who declined to be identified, as the information is not public.
The Gamaleya vaccine, financed by the state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and backed by the military, last week completed a phase 1 trial involving Russian military personnel. The institute has not published results for the study, which involved about 40 people, but has begun the next stage of trials with a larger group.
Gamaleya’s press office could not be reached by phone on Sunday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not respond to a text message asking whether Russian President Vladimir Putin or others in his administration have had the shots.
Russia has reported more than 750,000 cases of COVID-19, the fourth-largest total in the world, and Gamaleya’s program is on a faster track than many rivals in the West.
RDIF chief executive officer Kirill Dmitriev last week said that phase 3 trials are to start on Aug. 3 and include thousands of people in Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with the vaccine distributed nationally as early as September.
Western researchers typically run phase 3 trials for months to better understand safety and effectiveness.
Gamaleya’s candidate is a so-called viral vector vaccine based on human adenovirus — a common cold virus — fused with the spike protein of SARS CoV-2 to stimulate an immune response.
It is similar to a vaccine being developed by China’s CanSino Biologics, which is already in phase 2 trials with plans for more in Canada.
Canada was among the countries — along with the US and the UK — that last week accused Russian government-backed hackers of trying to steal secrets of their COVID-19 vaccine efforts.
Russian officials deny the allegations.
The program under which members of Russia’s business and political elite have been given the chance to volunteer for doses of the experimental vaccine is legal, but kept under wraps to avoid a crush of potential participants, a researcher familiar with the effort said, adding that several hundred people have been involved.
Bloomberg confirmed dozens who have had the shots, but none would allow their names to be published. It is not clear how participants are selected and they are not part of the official studies, though they are monitored and their results logged by the institute.
Patients usually get the shots — two are needed to produce an immune response Gamaleya says would last for about two years — at a Moscow clinic connected to the institute.
Participants are not charged a fee and sign releases that they know the risks involved.
Dmitriev said he and his family had taken the shots, adding that a significant number of other volunteers have also been given the opportunity. He declined to provide further details.
The Gamaleya Institute said it vaccinated its director, as well as the team working on the trial, when it started.
One top executive who had the vaccine said he experienced no side effects. He said he decided to risk taking the experimental shots to be able to live a normal life and have business meetings as usual.
Other participants have reported fever and muscle aches after getting the shots.
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