From a peeved Washington Post:

Russia unveils coronavirus vaccine, claiming victory in global race before final testing is complete

By Isabelle Khurshudyan and Carolyn Y. Johnson
August 11, 2020 at 1:57 a.m. PDT

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that the country has become the first to approve a coronavirus vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow, with production and tens of thousands of inoculations to follow.

Officials have pledged to vaccinate millions of people, including teachers and front line health-care workers, with the experimental coronavirus vaccine beginning this month, raising global alarm that the country is jumping dangerously ahead of critical, large scale testing that is essential to determine if it is safe and effective. …

The aggressive strategy from a country eager to declare a victory amid one of the worst outbreaks in the world has been criticized by outside scientists who worry that shots could be harmful or give people a false sense of security about their immunity. China has already authorized one vaccine for use in its military, ahead of definitive data that it is safe and effective.

At a congressional hearing this month, Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases testified that it would be problematic if countries made a vaccine available before extensive testing.

… It was given to scientists who developed it, in self-experimentation that is unusual in modern science, 50 members of the Russian military and a handful of other volunteers.

I hope it works. Now, I wouldn’t volunteer to personally take some Russian vaccine before a few million folks have tried it — lots of bad accidents have happened in Russia over the generations. But I hope these heroic Russians pull it off. And they might do it: After all, they won the first two legs of the Space Race.

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