Sputnik V vaccine has shown no signs of blood clots – Gamaleya institute

Russia's Sputnik-V vaccine against the coronavirus disease. File picture: Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters

Russia's Sputnik-V vaccine against the coronavirus disease. File picture: Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters

Published Apr 16, 2021

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An analysis of Russia's Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, has revealed that there were no cases of blood clot formation after inoculation, which developers say could be due to its purification technology.

Developed by the state-run Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, the Sputnik V viral vector vaccine is similar to those developed by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (J&J).

However, researchers from the Gamaleya institute said in a press release that unlike other vaccines, Sputnik V uses a 4-stage purification technology which could be the reason why there were no cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) in clinical trials.

Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended a pause in the issuing of the J&J vaccine after six women developed the rare CVST blood clot, which is when there's a blood blockage in the brain channels.

Consequently, South African health minister Zweli Mhkize announced on the same day that the roll-out part of the Sisonke Implementation study would be halted.

Similar to AstraZeneca and J&J, vector vaccines are harmless and inactive cold viruses, and are easier to manage than mRNA vaccines, which need to be stored at very low temperatures.

Sputnik V uses purification technology that helps to obtain a highly purified product that goes through mandatory control, including the analysis of free DNA presence.

A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine discusses that the cause of the thrombosis in some patients vaccinated with other vaccines could be insufficient purification.

“Insufficient purification or use of very high doses of target DNA/RNA can result in adverse interaction of a patient’s antibodies that activate thrombocytes with elements of the vaccine itself and/or free DNA/RNA, which can form a complex with the PF4 factor,” read the Gamaleya institute press release.

Sputnik V’s two-dose vaccine has been shown to be 91.6% effective against Covid-19, but it was shown to be less effective against the dominant virus variant in South Africa.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority responded to IOL saying that the approval of Sputnik V in the country was still a work in progress.

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