Why switching to Sputnik Light, Russia’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, is essential

The Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), sovereign wealth fund of Russia, initiated the registration procedures for the development of Sputnik Light, its single dose vaccine against the coronavirus, targeting the foreign market. “Sputnik V has already sought emergency approval in Russia and several other countries for its Sputnik Light single-dose vaccine. Sputnik Light to hit the world in March“The producers of the vaccine developed in the Gamaleya laboratory communicated via their official social network Twitter account.

“Some time ago the current Minister of Health, Carla Vizzotti, after a trip to Russia, said that there was the possibility of vaccinating with a single dose and the rejection was such that she ended up go back “, recalls the infectious disease doctor, epidemiologist and master’s degree in public health Hugo Pizzi. “But, when you start to prove that with just one dose, the results of some vaccines far exceed expectations, the possibility of using only one“, He adds. The efficiency of Sputnik V is 91.6%, as confirmed by data published in the specialized journal The Lancet, It is one of the only three preparations in the world with an effectiveness greater than 90%; the vaccine offers complete protection against severe cases of coronavirus.

“In the history of medicine, there has never been a vaccine whose effectiveness at two doses exceeded 90%.; if with a dose you reach 80%, the objective is reached ”, he adds. Lace, who considers the development of Sputnik Light as a positive step and a coherent strategy.

Carlos Kambourian, pediatrician and former president of Garrahan hospital, accessed by this means, indicates: “It is a vaccine in development for some time and has some advantages and disadvantages; on this last point, it reduces its effectiveness, but it is a reduction which does not affect the real effectiveness of the fight against the pandemic ”.

Among the advantages, list that, by developing a single dose, more people can be vaccinated in less time. “It is one more complement, is an emergency strategy to control major epidemics, that’s what we can have in Argentina in March, April and May, ”adds Kambourian.

Placement logistics, territorial distribution and cheaper costs are some of the factors that can make Sputnik Light, currently in phase 3, an alternative.

“We see that Single-dose vaccines are starting to appear, like the one from Johnson & Johnson, which has just been approved by the FDA in the United States»Said Pizzi, who maintains that«the Russians have become the main manufacturers of vaccines; it is not uncommon to think that a vaccine with a higher dose can be made“.

In early January, Russia announced that it had started clinical studies to develop single-dose Sputnik Light. At that time, the director of the Gamaleya Center, Alexandr Gintsburg, explained that the safety of this vaccine was “proven”, but that its effectiveness for use in the elderly remained to be studied.

There are two strategies in the vaccination plans implemented by the different countries: the first, which consists in vaccinating first those who become ill and experience a worsening of the disease; and another to vaccinate those who infect the most. “This vaccine targets those who spread the disease the most, i.e. young people, over 18, but under 60Kambourian explains.

The investigations carried out with the Sputnik Light aim to verify whether the replication of the vaccination makes it possible to obtain a sufficient level of antibodies to guarantee the protection of people. If this hypothesis is confirmed, Sptunik Light can be used with Sputnik V to revaccinate vaccinated people, or apply Sputnik Light to people who, after suffering from coronavirus, have developed insufficient amounts of antibodies or if their level decreases.

The Sputnik V vaccine is approved for use in over 30 countries, making it one of the top three coronavirus inoculants in the world in terms of the number of approvals issued by regulatory authorities.

Some of the markets, in addition to Russia, which have already authorized the vaccine are Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Mexico, Algeria, Palestine, Lebanon, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia. , Armenia, Nicaragua, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Gabon, San Marino and Ghana.

Recently, the Russian Ministry of Health lowered the selling price of the Sputnik V vaccine. The old price was 1942 rubles (about $ 25) and it has now dropped to 866.81 rubles (about $ 11.50) for both components. According to the authorities, this has been possible thanks to the optimization of industrial production technology, as well as the growth of its volumes.

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