India / We'll have to see whether Russia's COVID-19 vaccine is safe: AIIMS Director

New Delhi: After Russia claimed to have successfully rolled out a vaccine that it has named ‘Sputnik V’, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria suggested that caution must be exercised to first check the efficacy and safety of the claimed vaccine. He told ANI that if the Russian vaccine is successful, then it would have to be seen critically whether it is safe and effective.

On Russia’s claims, the AIIMS director further added that India has the capacity for mass production of the Coronavirus vaccine.

Dr Guleria was speaking at an event to mark Embassy of Israel’s contribution of state-of-the-art artificial intelligence-based technologies and high-end equipment to the AIIMS, Delhi.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences in a release said that the contribution was a part of the Israel-India cooperation to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Dr Guleria told ANI: “India-Israel relations are strong. Earlier, India helped Israel with medicines and safety gear. Now Israel has sent equipment including robotic teleconsultation and telemonitoring equipment.”

Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia has successfully developed the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine against that works “quite effectively” and forms a “stable immunity” against the disease.

President Putin also announced that one of his daughters has already been vaccinated by the vaccine that was named ‘Sputnik V’ after a Soviet satellite.

At a meeting, Putin said that the world’s first vaccine against coronavirus had been registered on Tuesday morning. “I know that it works quite effectively, it forms a stable immunity,” Russia’s official Tass news agency quoted Putin as saying.

Russia’s claims have come amidst concerns raised by experts around the world regarding the speed of Russia’s trials, suggesting that researchers might be cutting corners.