Scientists Voice Concerns over Russian COVID-19 Vaccine Study

Almost 40 scientists have signed an open letter, citing odd patterns in the data and a lack of transparency after authors withheld the full data.

Written byAmanda Heidt

| 3 min read

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, pandemic, Russia, vaccine, clinical trial, data, ethics, adenovirus, spike protein, Lancet

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ABOVE: The Russian vaccine relies on a human adenovirus to prime the body’s immune response to SARS-CoV-2.
© ISTOCK.COM, CHRISTOPH BURGSTEDT

The first data detailing Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine—nicknamed Sputnik—was published last week (September 4) in The Lancet. Almost immediately, other scientists began to call attention to unlikely patterns in the data, asking for raw numbers to verify the study’s conclusions.

Enrico Bucci, a systems biologist and bioethicist at Temple University, published an open letter on his blog September 7 to draw The Lancet’s attention to suspected data manipulation. While he stresses that the letter is not an allegation, “the presentation of the data raises several concerns which require access to the original data to fully investigate.”

The study reports results of Russia’s Phase 1/2 clinical trial to assess the safety and effectiveness of its vaccine candidate, carried out by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute. The tests took place between June and July ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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