OREANDA-NEWS. The pharmaceutical industry did not immediately switch to the development of a drug for the treatment of coronavirus, since everyone assumed that COVID-19 was a seasonal infection, Deputy Director for Research of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Gorelov told RIA Novosti.

"Work in this direction is underway, but, in addition to creating the substance itself, you need to choose the concentration, dose, so the path is longer than when creating vaccines. Research will continue, but if the virus becomes seasonal, they will stop," he said, answering the question why a vaccine against COVID-19 has been created, but there is no effective cure yet.

Gorelov noted that the development of drugs takes a longer time and requires huge funds. There are examples of other infections for which there are vaccines but no cure - measles and rabies.

Any disease is better prevented than cured, the infectious disease specialist emphasized.

Now in Russia one of four vaccines can be inoculated - Sputnik V (developed by the Gamaleya Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology), EpiVacCorona (Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology), KoviVak (Chumakov Federal Research Center for Research and Development of Immunobiological Preparations RAS), as well as "Sputnik Light", which is recommended for booster immunization.

Another drug of the St. Petersburg Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums (Federal Medical and Biological Agency) entered the I and II phases of clinical trials.