General, Research, Technology

Why is the Russian coronavirus vaccine called Sputnik V?

In August 2020, Russian scientists reportedthe creation of the first Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine. Its effectiveness was estimated at 91.4%, and starting from December 10, Russia has a free vaccination program. It is produced among at-risk groups between the ages of 18 and 60, but vaccines are primarily given to workers in medical and educational institutions. Also, the vaccine is bought by other countries - recently 300 thousand doses were sent to Argentina. Sputnik V has been talked about for a long time, but do you know why it is named that way? It is not hard to guess that the first part of the name refers us to the space successes of the USSR in the 1960s. But what about the "V"? Or is it not a number at all? The secret was recently revealed by the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.

The number "V" in the name of the vaccine is not a number at all

What does Sputnik V mean?

As soon as the name of the first vaccine againstcoronavirus began to appear in the headlines, many people realized that it was named after the first Soviet space satellite. In 1957, for the first time in history, the Sputnik-1 spacecraft, which was created by the Soviet designer of rocket and space systems, Sergei Korolev and his colleagues, flew into the orbit of our planet. This happened on October 4, which is better known today as Space Forces Day. According to the creators of the coronavirus vaccine, the first satellite gave impetus to space exploration. They also seem to think the new vaccine is an equally important invention.

The first artificial satellite was made in the USSR

But what the number "V" stands for has remained a mystery until now. But while sending hundreds of thousands of doses to Argentina, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev announced that it was a letter:

The "V" in the name of our vaccine means victory, and we wish the people of Argentina victory over this disease, "RIA Novosti reported.

For reference, it should be noted that the letter "V" is usuallyabbreviated English word "Victory", which translates as "Victory". That is, the creators of the vaccine decided to combine the legacy of the USSR with a foreign word. Delivering the vaccine to Argentina has been described as "a great example of collaboration and a historic moment." As in Russia, the Argentine authorities first of all want to vaccinate medical workers, and then it will be the police. It is planned to vaccinate 10 million people by March 2021.

See also: Who is looking for a cure for coronavirus and when will the vaccine appear?

Coronavirus vaccine safety

However, many people still do not believe inthe effectiveness of the vaccine and fear of side effects. It was created in a hurry, and the development of any vaccine takes a very long time. Relatively quickly, only the mumps vaccine was created - this process took "only" 4 years. The official website of the Sputnik V vaccine says that it is based on human adenoviruses, which significantly speeds up development. You can read more about how the coronavirus vaccine works and why many people doubt its effectiveness in this article.

Vaccination is currently voluntary

A new one was recently discovered in the UKa coronavirus mutation that can be 70% more infectious. The disease did not get worse, but the risk of infection in humans increased significantly. Scientists report that the vaccines created so far should still protect against it, because they affect the parts of the coronavirus that are not subject to mutations. And today there are several vaccines and most of all trust is caused by the American Pfizer, about which my colleague Lyubov Sokovikova spoke in detail. You can read her article at this link.

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However, our website also has detailedan article on why exactly vaccines should protect against the more contagious coronavirus. Apparently, at least the first half of 2021 can also be difficult, so this is very useful information.