Russia names its coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V

Russia has chosen the name "Sputnik V" for its first approved vaccine against COVID-19, which was officially registered this Tuesday.

The significant name alludes to the first satellite in history and the space race during the Cold War, according to a senior Kremlin representative said Tuesday.

Moscow considers it a resounding success that Russia was the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine.

Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Fund for Direct Investments (RFPI), said Russia has already received requests from more than 20 countries for a total of 1 billion doses of the newly registered vaccine.

President Vladimir Putin himself announced the approval of the vaccine, which comes less than two months into human testing.

The speed at which Russia has moved has led some international scientists to question whether Moscow is putting national prestige over science and people's safety.

First country to approve a coronavirus vaccine

President Vladimir Putin stressed this Tuesday that Russia has become the first country in the world to approve a vaccine for COVID-19, after less than two months of human trials.

The announcement has been received mostly with enthusiasm in that country as proof of its scientific capacity, although some also call the presentation anticipated.

The vaccine has yet to complete final testing, raising concerns among some experts about the speed of its approval, but Russian business conglomerate Sistema has said it hopes to put it into mass production by the end of the year.

Russian healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients will be offered the opportunity to volunteer for vaccination in the coming weeks, a source told Reuters last month.

The regulatory approval paves the way for mass inoculation of the Russian population and authorities hope will allow the economy, which has been hit by the fallout from the virus, to return to full capacity.

The speed at which Russia is moving to deploy its vaccine highlights its determination to win the global race for an effective product, but has raised concerns that it may be putting national prestige above science and safety.

In a meeting of government members broadcast on state television, Putin said that the vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow, is safe, stating that it has been administered to one of his daughters.

"I know that it works quite well, it generates strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the necessary checks," said Putin, who stressed that he hopes the country will soon begin mass producing the vaccine.

Its approval by the Ministry of Health anticipates the start of a larger scale trial with thousands of participants, commonly known as a phase III trial.

Such a trial, which requires a certain rate of participants contracting the virus to test the vaccine's effect, usually constitutes the essential precedent for granting the vaccine regulatory approval.

Regulators around the world have reiterated that the rush to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 should not compromise its safety. However, recent studies show growing public distrust of governments' efforts to produce a vaccine of this type as soon as possible.

More than 100 potential vaccines are currently being developed around the world to try to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. At least four are in the final phase of human trials, according to data from the World Health Organization.

A WHO spokesperson said that the entity and Russian health authorities are discussing the process for possible prequalification by the international organization of the COVID-19 vaccine announced by Moscow.