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The results of the two trials of Sputnik V showed that 100% of the participants have developed antibodies to the new coronavirus vaccine with no effects.

Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik-V produced an antibody response in all participants in early-stage trials according to the results published by The Lancet medical journal on Friday.

The results were hailed by Moscow as an answer to the critics.

The results of the two trials which were conducted in June or July this year involved 76 participants and the results showed that all of them have developed antibodies to the new coronavirus and no serious side effects were seen.

Russia had licensed this two-shot medicine for domestic use in August and has become the first country to do so before any data had been published or a large scale trial has begun.

The 42-day trials were conducted on 38 healthy adults and none of them had witnessed any serious adverse effects and confirmed that the vaccine candidate elicited an antibody response.

However, large and long term trials including a placebo comparison and further monitoring are required to establish the long-term safety and effectiveness of the vaccine for preventing COVID-19 infection.

The vaccine has been named Sputnik V in homage to the world’s first satellite which was launched by the Soviet Union.

Some Western experts have warned against its use until all the internationally approved testing and regulatory steps have been taken.

Russian official Dmitriev said that at least 3000 people had already been recruited for the large scale trial of the Sputnik V vaccine launched last week and the initial results were expected in October or November this year.

Governments and big pharmaceutical firms are racing to develop a vaccine by the end of the COVID-19 pandemic which has killed more than 85,000 people globally and infected around 26 million.

More than half a dozen drug makers are already conducting advanced clinical trials each with tens of thousands of participants and are expected to know if their vaccines work and are safe by the end of this year.

The Lancet said that the early stage trials suggested the Sputnik V vaccine produced a response in a component of the immune system known as T-cells.

Scientists have been scrutinizing the role played by the T-cells in battling coronavirus infection with recent findings showing these cells may provide longterm protection than antibodies.

Sputnik V is developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya’s institute and is administered in two doses with each based on a different vector that normally causes the common cold.

By Gayatri Yellayi