Russia registered single-dose sputnik light vaccine against COVID-19

The Russian Ministry of Health has registered the version Sputnik light of the COVID-19 vaccine to use, the news agency reported on Monday TASS.

The paperwork was filed a month ago and Russia said a few days last week that it had completed clinical trials of the single-dose vaccine, which it touted as a possible temporary solution to help countries with high infection rates to speed up vaccination campaigns.

Moscow said that its two-dose Sputnik V vaccine will remain the main version used in the country. Instead, Sputnik Light is geared toward overseas orders.

The director of Gamaleya, Alexandr Gintsburg, said the safety of the single-dose vaccine is “proven”, but its effectiveness for use in the elderly remains to be studied. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced the Sputnik Light and estimated its effectiveness at 85%, although Scientific data for phase 3 has not been published. Putin was vaccinated a few days ago without revealing what formula he received.

According to the researchers, Sputnik Light will be used to reduce mortality in situations where it is difficult to inoculate the two doses needed to boost immunity.

“This may become a temporary and effective solution for many countries that are at the height of the disease and want to save as many lives as possible.“Said the chairman of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (FIDR) Kiril Dmitriev.

On February 18, the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, announced that ten polyclinics in the capital would participate in the international study phase, with a total of 6,000 volunteers, 3,000 from Moscow and the rest of the United Arab Emirates.

Production of Sputnik V in China

Chinese pharmaceutical company Shenzhen Yuanxing Gene-tech will produce 60 million doses Russian vaccine against the Sputnik-V coronavirus, the Russian sovereign wealth fund announced on Monday. In a statement, he said that these doses will vaccinate “more than 30 million people” and that his commercial production will start in May.

Dmitriev said the collaboration “will increase the capacity to produce additional doses as we see increased demand for the Russian vaccine.”

A spokesperson for the fund told the AFP this is not the first deal with China to produce the vaccine. In India, contracts have already been signed in recent weeks with various pharmaceutical companies for some 700 million doses.

Russia has only delivered small quantities of Sputnik-V abroad because it cannot produce enough, even though the deliveries were highly publicized. Moscow insists it will not produce its vaccine for foreign markets but wants to increase production partnerships.

(With information from Reuters and AFP)

KEEP READING: