LONDON The World Health Organizations Europe office said it has begun discussions with Russia to try to obtain more information about the experimental COVID-19 vaccine the country recently approved.
Last week, Russia became the first country in the world to license a coronavirus vaccine when President Vladimir Putin announced its approval.
Russian officials claimed the vaccine would provide lasting immunity to COVID-19 but offered no proof.
This concern that we have around safety and efficacy is not specifically for the Russia vaccine, its for all of the vaccines under development, said Smallwood.
Two other potential COVID-19 vaccine candidates have already started such studies in the U.S. and elsewhere, and will require about 30,000 people to receive the immunization and be tracked afterward.