Tricky data. ‘Sputnik V’ developers respond to Western critics, but the debate might overlook the vaccine’s biggest problem

The developers of “Sputnik V,” Russia’s first vaccine against the coronavirus, have finally responded to a note of concern signed by dozens of scientists who highlighted statistical anomalies in the phase I/II data researchers at the Gamaleya Center published earlier this month. The vaccine’s developers shared their answers in the same authoritative peer-reviewed medical journal where they published their trial data: The Lancet. In the new text, “Safety and Efficacy of the Russian COVID-19 Vaccine: More Information Needed,” Denis Logunov (the deputy research director who leads the group responsible for Sputnik V) and his co-authors explain that the “repeated patterns” in the data flagged by Western colleagues are either the result of coincidences in a very small number of volunteers or in fact not repetitions at all. Meduza compared both sides’ arguments and asked an independent expert to comment on the dispute.

from Meduza.io https://ift.tt/3iTbeUe