Risk Assessment Report – 12 august 2020
Risk Assessment Report – 12 august 2020
Rapid Risk Assessment
August 12, 2020
Risk Assessment Report – 12 august 2020
Time Period Covered August 12, 2020 - August 12, 2020
- Worldwide, there have been over 20.4 million reported cases and more than 742,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19. On August 11, Russia registered the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik-V, developed by the Gamaleya Institute based in Moscow. However, since the vaccine has not completed three phases of trials, there are many concerns over its safety and effectiveness. Furthermore, Russia has released no scientific data on the vaccine research conducted to date, furthering a lack of transparency about how the vaccine works. Other closely monitored vaccines candidates include one from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca and one from Moderna and the US National Institute of Health. Both have shown promising results in published papers and are currently undergoing phase 3 studies.
- Over the past weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been adding functionality to its COVID-19 global dashboard, to display all of the latest data that have been published in the daily situation report; these data are now fully available on the dashboard. Important narrative updates are being merged into the WHO COVID-19 “Rolling updates” pages. Starting next Monday, 17 August, the daily situation report will be replaced by a “COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update” which will focus on analysis and interpretation of the evolving epidemiologic situation. Operational updates will continue to be shared through the “Weekly Operational Update on COVID-19” (WHO Situational Report 203)
- WHO spokesman said on Tuesday (August 11) that WHO and Russian health authorities are discussing the process for possible WHO prequalification for its newly approved COVID-19 vaccine. He also stated that prequalification of any vaccine includes the rigorous review and assessment of all required safety and efficacy data. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia had become the first country in the world to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing
Risk Assessment Report – 12 august 2020