What happened:
Astrazeneca is set to start trials to test a combination of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine with the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. The trials will be to investigate whether combining the two different vaccines will boost the efficacy of Astrazeneca’s shot. Russia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (RDIF), which funded the Sputnik V vaccine named after the soviet era satellite that set off the space race, stated that the trials will start by the end of the year. A statement from Astrazeneca revealed that it was considering assessing combinations of different vaccines, and that it will begin exploring this avenue in collaboration with the Russian Gamaleya Institute, which developed Sputnik V. Together they will investigate whether two common cold virus based vaccines can be successfully combined or not.