MOSCOW, Aug 4-RIA Novosti. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation from the first days of the creation of the Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus infection took part in its development, said the head of the military department, Army General Sergei Shoigu, in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.
"The same military specialists were involved in the creation of the Sputnik V vaccine. In the spring of last year, the 48th Central Research Institute, together with the Gamaleya Institute, conducted preclinical studies of the vaccine on animals. They have proven its effectiveness and safety, " Shoigu said.
In May 2020, the results of these studies were reported to the President of Russia, and by June 1 last year, groups of military and civilian volunteers were formed to conduct clinical trials at the Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital and the Sechenov Medical Institute Clinic, Shoigu noted.
"Studies have confirmed the high efficacy and safety of the vaccine. In August last year, it was registered and is now actively used for vaccination of military personnel and citizens of the country, " Shoigu recalled.
He also told how military specialists participated in the development of test systems that determine the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
At the very end of 2019, Chinese experts published the results of a complete decoding of the genome of the new coronavirus, Shoigu noted.
"Since the appearance of this information, specialists of the RCB-protection troops and the 48th Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense have studied its properties for two weeks and collected the PCR kit necessary to identify the causative agent of the disease," the head of the military department said.
"The test systems were promptly registered and organized their production, which made it possible to detect coronavirus foci in the troops in a timely manner. And in addition, they provided the transfer of significant volumes at that time, and this is tens of thousands of tests, from the Ministry of Defense to civilian healthcare," Shoigu said.
