Russian Scientists Deserve Nobel Prize for Vaccines against Novel Coronavirus

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First deputy director for research at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology under the consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, associate member of the Academy of Sciences Alexander Gorelov, believes that there are sufficient reasons for nominate the scientists who have developed vaccines against the novel coronavirus for a Nobel Award, TASS reports.

“The vaccine developers should be nominated for the Nobel Award. I believe there are sufficient reasons for this,” he said at a round-table discussion entitled Russian Science and Medicine vs COVID-19. Challenges and Achievements.

Gorelov said that currently there were no alternatives to pre-emptive vaccination and all countries sought to achieve collective immunity, preferably post-vaccination immunity, and not acquired in the natural way.

“It goes without saying that no country around the world can say it has such a diversity of vaccines as Russia: from classical, developed by the Chumakov Center, to innovative, vector vaccines from the Gamaleya Center and the synthetic polypeptide one developed by Vektor,” he said. “Medics have the right to choose what vaccine should be recommended for a specific patient in accordance with the person’s individual features.”

On August 11, 2020 Russia was the first to have registered a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, Sputnik V, from the Gamaleya research center under the Health Ministry. Later there followed the registration of another domestic vaccine, created by the center Vektor, of the national consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. Very soon the registration of a third vaccine is due. It was developed by the Chumakov Center for Research into and Development of Immune and Biological Products.