INSTANT VIEW-Russia says its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is 92% effective

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is 92% effective at protecting people from COVID-19 according to interim trial results, the country's sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday, as Moscow rushes to keep pace with Western drugmakers in the race for a shot.

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is 92% effective at protecting people from COVID-19 according to interim trial results, the country's sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday, as Moscow rushes to keep pace with Western drugmakers in the race for a shot. The initial results are the second to be published from a late-stage human trial of a vaccine that could halt a pandemic that has killed more than 1.2 million people and ravaged the global economy.

Independent experts said knowledge about the trial's design and protocol was sparse, making it extremely difficult to interpret the figures released on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc and BioNTech said on Monday their shot was more than 90% effective.

MARKET REACTION: European stocks and U.S. stock futures extended gains slightly after the announcement. World stocks rallied to record highs following Pfizer's encouraging vaccine update on Monday. COMMENTS

DANNY ALTMANN, PROFESSOR OF IMMUNOLOGY, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON "I can see no a priori reason to disbelieve these results, but it's so very hard to comment, because there is so little data there."

(Compiled by Kirsten Donovan)

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