US and German health officials are skeptical about the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine that Russia has just announced due to lack of data and the trial has not yet been completed.

"The problem is not which country has the first vaccine. It is a matter of having a safe and effective vaccine for the American people and the rest of the world," said US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar.

It is important to provide transparent data to prove the safety and efficacy of the new vaccine, Azar said.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, also announced that he will not use the Russian Covid-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials.

"I certainly won't be using it outside of clinical trials at the moment. It seems to have been tested at most on a few hundred patients. Some reports even say it has been tested with less than 100 diseases.

Gottlieb said at this point he is concerned about both the safety and effectiveness of the Russian vaccine.

"In many cases, you can only get one shot per season, so if you get the ineffective vaccine on the market, it will be very difficult to give it again to the people.

Dr. Gottlieb added that China is also developing a vaccine, which is currently being clinically tested in Canada, but initial data showed disappointing results.

German officials also expressed skepticism about the quality and safety of the recently announced Covid-19 vaccine, emphasizing that the European Union will only license the drugs when it has passed full clinical trials.

"Patient safety is a top priority," a spokesman for the German Ministry of Health told the RND.

President Vladimir Putin today announced that Russia has successfully developed the first vaccine to provide "solid immunity" against Covid-19 after less than two months of human trials.

Russian Deputy Health Minister Oleg Gridnev said the vaccine against Covid-19 was developed by the Gamaleya National Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology Research and the Russian Ministry of Defense.

World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said it was in discussions with Russian officials about the new vaccine.