Russian elite given experimental Covid-19 vaccine since April

The Gamaleya vaccine, financed by the state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund and backed by the military, last week completed a phase 1 trial involving Russian military personnel.

 The institute hasn’t published results for the study, which involved about 40 people, but has begun the next stage of trials with a larger group, Bloomberg reported.

Gamaleya’s press office couldn’t be reached by phone Sunday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn’t respond to a text message asking whether President Vladimir Putin or others in his administration have had the shots. A government spokesman couldn’t immediately comment.

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 Kirill Dmitriev said last week phase 3 trials will start 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 U.S. and U.K. -- that last week accused Russian government-backed hackers of trying to steal secrets of their Covid-19 vaccine efforts. Russian officials deny the allegations.