Thursday 15 July 2021
Already after the first dose
Sputnik V is doing well in Argentina
The Sputnik V vaccine is controversial and does not appear to be particularly in demand. But now a study from Argentina has found remarkable results – and for the first time presents data that does not come from Russia.
The Covid-19 Gam-Covid-Vac vaccine, also known as Sputnik V, developed at the Russian Gamaleya Institute, has proven effective after the first dose. The vaccine produced good immune responses, especially in people who had already been infected with Sars-CoV-2 prior to vaccination. A second dose is still recommended for people who have not previously had the virus. This is the result of a study conducted with vaccinated health workers in Argentina, their results It was published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.
According to the Fundación Instituto Leloir in Buenos Aires, researchers from Buenos Aires examined the immune reaction in 288 people who had been vaccinated with Sputnik V. in a message. The so-called antibody titer was determined once before the first dose, 21 days after the first dose – that is, on the day of the second vaccination – and after a further three weeks. The goal of the first test was to find employees who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 prior to vaccination. In fact, researchers found 62 people who contracted the coronavirus before vaccination.
Good antibody formation
The research team led by Andrea Gamarnik of Fundación Instituto Leloir in Buenos Aires found that 94 percent of those vaccinated had already developed anti-Sars-CoV-2 antibody titers three weeks after the first dose of the vaccine so high that one could speak of a response. good immunity; In neutralization tests, it was found that cell injury could be prevented by 90%. This high value may be sufficient to protect patients who have already survived infection with SARS-CoV-2 with just a single dose of the fifth Sputnik vaccine.
The researchers also saw good results for different age groups. The treatment worked well with colleagues over 60 years of age. 89 percent of those raised enough antibodies to the virus three weeks after the first dose of protection. Among young people, the rate was 96 percent.
Antibodies in all vaccinated persons
But these values ​​can be increased again with a second dose. The researchers now saw antibodies to Sars-CoV-2 in all subjects. So the researchers advocate a second dose, but state that the interval between the first and second vaccination can also be extended without risking protection from vaccination.
Due to the lack of study results, the Russian vaccine has so far been rejected by many countries and has not been approved within the European Union. With the results of the current study, the first peer-reviewed study of immune responses induced by this vaccine, conducted outside Russia, wrote in the announcement.