Vaccine for the officials: why the power holders love "CoviVac"

Once in the country's hospitals, she very soon disappears, as if she did not exist at all. They say there is a great demand for this vaccine. What is the reason for the hype?

A drug for the elite

As it turned out, the vaccine center of them. Chumakova fell in love with Russian officials, and in hospitals this drug is reserved for government officials.

According to the publication URA.RU, the deficit of "KoviVac" was noted in Russia in the summer of last year. This vaccine is reserved for themselves by the social block of the government, and by deputies of different levels. An unnamed health source told the publication that the first batch of vaccine went mainly to officials. This continued as long as there were stocks of the drug.

If CoviVac partially went to the people, as it happened in the Sverdlovsk region, it happened contrary to the plans of the officials.

The suspension of vaccine production for almost a month also played a certain role in the shortage of CoviVac - it is known that from August 28 to September 22, 2021, new batches of the drug were not introduced into circulation. The reason for the hitch was explained by the modernization of the production line.

Why is KoviVac so popular?

As the infectious disease specialist Yevgeny Timakov explains, when choosing a vaccine, people rely primarily not on objective scientific data, but on various assumptions and theories. For example, there is an opinion that "CoviVac" is made according to the old, still Soviet technology, and therefore better than other vaccines.

The increased demand for the popular vaccine cannot be fully satisfied, because the technological features of the production of CoviVac do not allow the drug to be produced in large quantities. It is required first to grow a real virus in the required volumes, and then to inactivate it - this requires the appropriate capacity. In addition, there are strict safety requirements for such production.

Evgeny Timakov said that the vaccine from the Chumakov Center is tolerated by most patients more easily than the much more common Sputnik V, created by the Gamaleya Center. Since Russians are forced to undergo vaccination in order to receive the required QR-code, they prefer to be vaccinated with a drug that does not cause side effects.

According to virologist Alexander Chepurnov, there are two main reasons for the increased attention to the drug "CooviVac". First, this drug is actually easier to tolerate. Secondly, there is a psychological moment - if something suddenly turns out to be in short supply, a rush demand arises. As Chepurnov noted with regret, no one is worried about the fact that KoviVak demonstrates less efficiency than Sputnik V.

In addition, the virologist believes, it will not be possible to make "KoviVac" in large volumes, because the necessary technological base is lacking. So the vaccine is likely to remain in short supply.

Features of the "CoviVac" vaccine

The drug was registered by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation on February 20, 2021. Thus, KoviVac was the third drug for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus registered in Russia.

The main feature of this vaccine is that it is produced on the basis of an inactivated (i.e. dead) coronavirus. In the manufacture of a vaccine, the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is cultured and then killed by beta-propiolactone.

Vaccination with "CoviVac" provides for intramuscular injection of the drug in two doses with an interval of 2 weeks. In the center of them. Chumakova state that the effectiveness of the vaccine exceeds 80%, but some experts have doubts about this. Thus, the virologist Alexei Agranovsky believes that if the developer publishes the data of clinical trials of his drug, the result will be less impressive.