Andrey Botikov inventor of Sputnik vaccine found strangled to death
There was a worldwide frenzy to patent anti-coronavirus vaccinations during the COVID-19 epidemic.
There were a total of 18, including Andrey Botikov, Soviet scientists who worked on the development of Sputnik.
Reports surfaced on Sunday from independent Russian news outlet Meduza that the scientist’s dead body had been located in his home north of Moscow.
A staffer at the Moscow Research Center told Meduza that a guy, 29, broke into Botikov’s house and strangled him with a belt.
It was later confirmed by RIA Novosti that the deceased man was really Botikov. The accused killer, under the identity Alexei Z., entered a guilty plea.
So, who exactly was Andrey Botikov?
The researcher was employed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya National Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology.
Once his work on the Sputnik vaccine was recognised, Botikov was awarded a medal ‘for merit to the motherland’ by the Russian government.
On August 11, 2020, the Sputnik vaccine was officially licenced. Russian approval before data from the advanced stage were known drew criticism from the rest of the world.
Sputnik is an intramuscular injection that does not include any coronavirus components.
The research facility where the scientist was employed has not yet issued a statement.