WASHINGTON — Scientists have backed Brazil’s drug regulator’s decision to stop the import of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine on the basis that batches they tested carried a live version of a common cold-causing virus.
Top virologist Angela Rasmussen told AFP the finding “raises questions about the integrity of the manufacturing processes” and could be a safety issue for people with weaker immune systems if the problem were found to be widespread.
Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, which developed the vaccine, has denied the reports.
The issue centers around an “adenovirus vector” — a virus that normally causes mild respiratory illness but in vaccines is genetically modif…
Keep on reading: Scientists back Brazil over Russian COVID-19 vaccine import ban