Vietnam is among few countries that have high trust in Russia’s vaccine against Covid-19, according to a survey conducted by global public opinion and data company YouGov.

Percentage of people express their readiness for vaccination against Covid-19. Source: YouGov

The strongest indicator of trust in Russia’s vaccine Sputnik V was recorded in Mexico, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to Russia’s sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

Results from the survey of more than 12,000 respondents in 11 countries showed their attitude towards vaccination against the coronavirus and their vaccine preferences. More than 2.5 billion people or 30% of the world’s population, live in these countries.

The survey became one of the largest on this topic and the first global survey involving countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Four out of five respondents saying they would like to be vaccinated Russian Sputnik V vaccine.

The level of trust to a vaccine based on human adenoviral vector (Sputnik V platform) is 9 times higher than to other non-human adenoviral vector platforms.

Russia as a vaccine manufacturer is the most highly trusted, with 21% of the votes, surpassing the USA at 15% and China at 13% among the first choice countries named by respondents.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of RDIF, commented that the survey covered 11 countries located in various world regions, meaning the survey had a good representation of different nationalities and cultures.

The survey participants who had heard about the Sputnik V vaccine expressed a greater readiness to vaccination due to their understanding of the reliability, safety and efficacy of the Russian vaccine, he added.

Sputnik V vaccine

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus. Photo: Shutterstock

Sputnik V vaccine is based on a well-studied human adenoviral vector platform that has proven safe and effective with no long-term side effects in more than 250 clinical trials globally conducted during the past two decades - while the history of the use of human adenoviruses in vaccine development began in 1953.

More than 100,000 people have received approved and registered drugs based on human adenoviral vectors.

Currently, 40,000 volunteers are taking part in the Phase III double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical post-registration study of the Sputnik V vaccine in Russia, of whom more than 22,000 volunteers were vaccinated with the first dose and more than 19,000 volunteers with the first and second doses.

There were no unexpected adverse events during the trials. Monitoring of the participants is ongoing.

The uniqueness of the Russian vaccine lies in the use of two different human adenoviral vectors which allows for a stronger and longer-term immune response as compared to the vaccines using one and the same vector for two doses.

According to RDIF, cost of one dose of Sputnik V vaccine for international markets will be less than US$10. Sputnik V is a two-dose vaccine. Its cost is two or more times cheaper than messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines with similar efficacy levels.

The first international deliveries of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine will be made to customers in January 2021 based on the existing partnerships with foreign manufacturers.

RDIF continues expanding existing agreements with international manufacturing partners to produce the vaccine for more than 500 million people starting from 2021.