Russian documents revealed that the country's coronavirus vaccine, now hailed as the first in the world, has adverse side-effects such as pain, swelling, and fever. This is in contrast to President Vladimir Putin's claim that her daughter who was inoculated did not suffer any side-effect other than fever.

More surprisingly, according to Daily Mail UK's latest report, the leaked information showed  that the vaccine was approved and tested on only 38 people.  

Russia's Vaccine Showed Side-Effects Such as Pain, Swelling, and Fever
(Photo : The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS)
A scientist works inside a laboratory of the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology during the production and laboratory testing of a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Moscow, Russia August 6, 2020. Picture taken August 6, 2020.

Also Read: Fauci Warns over 'COVID-19 and Flu Convergence', Calls for 'Universal Wearing of Masks' at Schools

Although the effectiveness of the much-trumpeted Russian drug is still "unknown," the country registered the vaccine after just 42 days of research, as stated by the Fontanka news agency.

The report also mentioned that Vladimir Putin claimed that the vaccine was able to pass all the critical medical tests, even though one of the submitted registration documents stated that there are no clinical studies to prove the vaccine's epidemiological effectiveness. 

Also Read: Putin: Russia Will Register World's First COVID-19 Vaccine 'in a Few Days' Despite Experts Calling It a 'Pandora Box'

The vaccine called "Sputnik V" was questioned by medical experts doubting about its ability to develop sufficient antibodies. Putin was criticized by scientists, saying that Russia's move was "reckless and foolish." They warned that the pandemic could get worse if the vaccine is ineffective and dangerous. 

Although the Russian leader said that his daughter had not experienced any side effects, except for high temperature, Fontanka said that AEs (adverse events) were shown in the long list, which happened very often and frequently. 

"It is not possible to more accurately determine the incidence of AEs due to the limited sample of study participants," said the vaccine's producer, the Gamaleya Research Institute. 144 separate adverse events in the 38 healthy volunteers were reported. 

What happened on  the 42nd day of vaccination

The vaccinated individuals were able to pass the medical trials without consequences. However, 31 volunteers suffered from the vaccine's side-effects on the 42nd day of the vaccination. These side-effects included pain, hyperthermia, swelling, and itching at the body part where the vaccine was injected.   

Russia's Vaccine Showed Side-Effects Such as Pain, Swelling, and Fever
(Photo : REUTERS/Bing Guan/File Photo)
A scientist conducts research on a vaccine for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) at the laboratories of RNA medicines company Arcturus Therapeutics in San Diego, California, U.S., March 17, 2020.

Lack of energy or physical weakness, fever, malaise, decreased appetite, diarrhea, headaches, sore throat, nasal congestion, and runny nose are included in the list of common manifestations. The medical tests also revealed that the volunteers' antibodies dropped below the average levels on the 42nd day of vaccination. 

It was also explained that Sputnik V is not permitted to be used on individuals who are under 18 years or beyond 60 years old, since the vaccine still lacks medical research. Pregnant and lactating women are also not advised to have the vaccine because its safety and efficacy are not studied yet, including interaction with other drugs or medicines.  

For more news update about "Sputnik V" vaccine, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Also Read: Experts Say Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine is 'Scary', But Some Countries Already Pre-Ordered A Billion Doses


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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.

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