RNS: The first dose of Sputnik V vaccine (imported) was administered in Hyderabad today. As part of a limited pilot, the soft launch of the vaccine has commenced by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.
The first consignment of the imported doses of the Sputnik V vaccine rushed to India on 1 May this year and on 13 May it received a regulatory clearance from the CDL in Kasauli, said Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.
An imported dose of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine against will cost Rs 995.40 (MRP of 948 rupees and a 5 percent GST per dose) in India, said Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, which is manufacturing the vaccine in India.
“Over the next few months, further consignments of imported doses are expected. The supply of the Sputnik V vaccine by Indian manufacturing partners will then begin,” the company said.
Dr Reddy’s was associated with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) in September 2020 to conduct clinical trials of Sputnik V and for its distribution rights in India.
According to the Lancet, the most renowned medical journal Sputnik V has 91.6 per cent of effectiveness against the virus and is the third vaccine to be approved for use in India.
Sputnik V, is one among three (Pfizer and Moderna vaccines) in the world to achieve such high efficacy rates; already been administered to over 20 lakh people worldwide and is priced for less than 10 USD per dose in international markets.
Presently, Sputnik V is accepted for use worldwide in 60 countries includes 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, Belarus, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, Nicaragua, Republika Srpska (the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Panama.
This Vaccine was developed by Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology last year in Russia.
According to the report, Sputnik V vaccine can be stored in two forms— Liquid and in Powdered form; the liquid form requires a temperature of -18 degrees C while the powdered form requires temperature storage of 2-8 degree Celsius.
The vaccine requires two doses (0·5 mL/dose) intramuscularly, but the first and second dose are having two different vectors. The first dose (rAd26) is a different vector and the second dose is (rAd5). But, both vectors carry the gene for full-length SARS-CoV-2 glycoprotein or protein S, it reported.
It is expected that the local manufacturing of Sputnik-V will commence soon while six Indian manufacturing partners are fulfilling regulatory requirements to ensure smooth and timely supply.
