The Indian government approved the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, giving a big boost to the country’s immunization drive as infection rates reached new highs. After the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and Covaxin, which was developed by Indian firm Bharat Biotech, India has approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.
Sputnik V, which is funded by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), has already signed agreements to manufacture 852 million doses in India.
“In India, over 850 million doses of Sputnik V will be manufactured annually, enough to vaccinate over 425 million people around the world,” said RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev in a press release.
Dmitriev added, “The Russian vaccine has efficacy of 91.6% and provides full protection against severe cases of COVID-19 as demonstrated by the data published in one of the leading medical journals The Lancet.”
Sputnik V covid vaccine use guidelines
-The vaccine is indicated for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 disease in individuals of ≥ 18 years of age.
-The vaccine should be administered intramuscularly in two doses of 0.5 ml each with interval of 21 days.
-The vaccine has to be stored at -18°C.
-The vaccine comprises of two components I & II, which are not interchangeable.
Dr. Reddy’s collaborated with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) in September of last year to perform Sputnik V clinical trials and distribute the vaccine in India.