Developers of Sputnik V on Thursday, 6 May, informed that health officials in Russia have approved a single-dose version of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine
Introducing the jab – Sputnik Light – the official Twitter account of Sputnik said:
“Introducing a new member of the Sputnik family – a single dose Sputnik Light! It’s a revolutionary 1-shot COVID-19 vaccine with the 80% efficacy – higher than many 2-shot vaccines. Sputnik Light will double vaccination rates and help to handle epidemic peaks.”
Further, the vaccine company said that while Sputnik V remains their core vaccine, Sputnik Light has it own features.
What the Russian Direct Investment Fund Said
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which helped finance the vaccine, reportedly informed in a statement that Sputnik Light "demonstrated 79.4 percent efficacy" compared to 91.6 percent for the two-shot Sputnik V.
AFP further quoted RDIF as saying that the results were drawn from "data taken from 28 days after the injection was administered as part of Russia's mass vaccination program between 5 December 2020 and 15 April 2021."
The Russian vaccine has reportedly been approved for use in over 60 countries.
However, it has not yet been granted approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or the United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Some Western countries have been wary of Sputnik V over concerns that the Kremlin would use it as a soft-power tool to advance its interests, according to AFP.
More About Sputnik V
Russia registered the vaccine in August before large-scale clinical trials were conducted. However, leading medical journal The Lancet has since said it is safe and more than 90 percent effective with two doses.
A statement said that more than 20 million people globally have received their first shot of Sputnik V.
Sputnik V in India
Meanwhile, the first consignment of the Russian-made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine arrived in India’s Hyderabad on Saturday, 1 May.
“As Russia and India continue dedicated joint efforts to combat COVID-19, this move is especially important to support the Indian Government’s endeavours to mitigate the deadly second wave and save lives,” reported ANI, quoting N Kudashev, Russian Ambassador to India.
According to diplomats based in Moscow and New Delhi, the flight carrying 1,50,000 doses of the preventive vaccine left Russia on 1 May morning and will be handed over to Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.
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