The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the limited emergency use of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine ‘Sputnik V’ under certain conditions, paving the way for the introduction of a third vaccine in India.
Initially met with skepticism, experts have since been persuaded of the Sputnik V’s efficacy, with promising findings reported in the medical journal The Lancet. It was the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine.
“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.”
Is it really that effective?
In a phase-III clinical trial, the Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik-V was found to have 91.6 percent efficacy, according to the findings reported in the top medical journal Lancet. The vaccine is recommended for active immunisation against Covid-19 in people aged 18 and up, and it should be given intramuscularly in two doses of 0.5 ml each, separated by 21 days.
Based on the results of clinical trials in Russia as well as positive data from additional Phase III local clinical trials in India performed in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, the vaccine has been registered in India under the emergency use authorization protocol.
In India, the RDIF has signed agreements with Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, and Virchow Biotech, among others.
So far, which countries have given their approval to Sputnik V?
Apart from India, Sputnik V has also been approved in Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Republika Srpska (an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Gabon, San-Marino, Ghana, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Guyana, Egypt, Honduras, Guatemala, Moldova, Slovakia, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Laos, Iraq, North Macedonia, Kenya, Morocco, Jordan, Namibia, Azerbaijan, Philippines, Cameroon, , Seychelles, Mauritius, Vietnam, Antigua and Barbuda, Mali, and Panama.
ALSO READ:- Merkel And Macron Call Putin To Address The EU’s Acceptance Of The Sputnik Statement.