Russia is aiming for an approved COVID-19 vaccine in the next fortnight to portray itself as a global science leader, but there are major concerns over a lack of data and testing

July 31, 2020

Russian President Vladimir Putin applauds during the State Awards Ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, June,12,2019 Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Russia is aiming to have a COVID-19 vaccine approved for public use by August 10, which would make it the first approved vaccine in the world, Russian officials told CNN.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, compared the vaccine's quick development to Russia launching the first successful satellite in 1957, beating the US to it.
"It's a Sputnik moment," he said. "Americans were surprised when they heard Sputnik's beeping. It's the same with this vaccine. Russia will have got there first."
He also said that scientists had not rushed to be first, but were focused on protecting people in Russia, as cases continued to climb.
As of July 29, Russia had the fourth most cases in the world, with 822,060 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 13,483 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
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Russia is gunning to have the world's first coronavirus vaccine ready in the next fortnight, but there's still a lot that's not known about it, and doubts over whether it will be effective, according to a new report.

A COVID-19 vaccine, created by the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow, aims to be approved for public use by August 10, then administered to frontline medical workers, while it simultaneously goes through a third phase of tests, Russian officials told CNN.

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