Gamaleya Research Centre comments on Modern victory

Moderna's recognition as best coronavirus vaccine comes as an economic and political move of the World Congress, Alexander Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya Research Center for Electrochemistry said, RIA Novosti reports.

"The number of deaths caused by RNA-containing vaccines, such as Moderna, considerably exceeds the number of deaths from the AstraZeneca vaccine," the head of the center, the developer of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 told reporters.

"The price of the issue is about $100 billion. Recognizing Sputnik V means supporting the Russian Federation, and the congress took place, let me remind you, in Washington,” Gintsburg added.

Moderna's drug won Best COVID Vaccine at the 2021 World Vaccine Congress. Sputnik V and AstraZeneca were shortlisted for the nomination. The vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech was also highly praised. The selection criteria for the winners are unknown.