Medical institutions of the republic are ready to begin voluntary vaccination of residents against COVID-19. Vaccination for Tatarstan residents will be free. The first batch of Sputnik V vaccines, about 3.7 thousand doses, will be delivered to 40 medical institutions in Tatarstan next week, the Tatarstan Ministry of Health said. Sputnik V vaccine is stored at -18 ° C. Special refrigerators and freezers have been prepared for its storage. The drug will be delivered to the republic in specialized transport, where the required temperature regime will also be provided. “Vaccination of volunteers will begin immediately after the drug is delivered to the republic. For vaccination, it is necessary to pass tests for coronavirus and antibodies, only two analyzes,”Lilia Galimova, head of the press service of the President of Tatarstan, told reporters at a briefing. She explained that the vaccination itself will be free, but whether the medical institutions will do the tests necessary for her free of charge, she did not answer. Sputnik V is the world's first registered vaccine against coronavirus, developed by the Center. Gamalei. Now it is undergoing post-registration tests, in which 40 thousand volunteers take part in Russia alone. Clinical trials of the drug, in addition to Russia, are also taking place in Belarus, Brazil, India and the United Arab Emirates. “The uniqueness of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine lies in the use of two different vectors based on the human adenovirus. This allows for a stronger and longer-term immune response compared to vaccines using the same vector for two injections,”the official website of the first Russian vaccine against coronavirus, Sputnik V, reports. Meanwhile, in Tatarstan, volunteers have already begun to vaccinate against coronavirus with another Russian vaccine - EpiVacCorona. 500 doses have been allocated to the republic. The vaccine "EpiVacCorona" was developed by the Novosibirsk State Scientific Center of Virology and Biotechnology "Vector" of Rospotrebnadzor. Its main difference from others is the presence of virus fragments - synthetic peptide antigens. By causing an immune response, the drug contributes to the further development of immunity. The doctors of the 7th city hospital of Kazan, on the basis of which this vaccine is being tested in the republic, are very careful in the selection of volunteers, not all of them can be vaccinated. There are a number of contraindications, in particular, pregnancy, acute infectious diseases, malignant neoplasms, exacerbation of chronic diseases. Before vaccination, all volunteers undergo a serious examination: they are examined by physicians, then a screening is carried out, according to the results of which it is determined whether a given person is fit or not to participate in the trials. The main condition for the selection of applicants for vaccination is the absence of antibodies to COVID-19. According to the Ministry of Health of Tatarstan, 10.7 thousand cases of COVID-19 are currently registered in Tatarstan, 9.4 thousand people have recovered, including 66 in the last day. As of December 3, 144 people have died from coronavirus infection in the republic over the entire period of the pandemic.
