Prognosis

Russia Approves Second Covid-19 Vaccine Before Phase 3 Trial

  • Former bio-weapons lab’s vaccine was registered for public use
  • Race for inoculation gains urgency amid record Russian cases

    

Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Russian health authorities approved a Covid-19 vaccine created by a former biological weapons research laboratory for public use, marking the second time the Kremlin has bypassed accepted scientific protocol as it tries to field a defense against the pandemic.

A vaccine developed by the Vector State Virology and Biotechnology Center in Siberia has been registered, President Vladimir Putin said in televised comments Wednesday.