Single-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine Sputnik Light Authorised For Use In Russia
Mumbai: The developer of the two-dose Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine announced Thursday that they are offering a one-shot version of the jab that is about 80 per cent effective against COVID-19 disease.
Named “Sputnik Light”, the “revolutionary 1-shot COVID-19 vaccine” has been approved by Russian health officials.
The announcement was made on the official Twitter account of the Sputnik V vaccine, run by the state-owned Gamaleya Research Institute.
“Introducing a new member of the Sputnik family – a single dose Sputnik Light! It’s a revolutionary 1-shot COVID-19 vaccine with the 80% efficacy – higher than many 2-shot vaccines,” Sputnik V announced, stating that “Sputnik Light will double vaccination rates and help to handle epidemic peaks”.
https://twitter.com/sputnikvaccine/status/1390274722487746563?s=20
It was explicitly stated that the two-dose Sputnik V vaccine would continue to be a core vaccine developed by the institute. “While Sputnik V is our main comment, Sputnik Lite has its own characteristics … Sputnik Lite – A Light to Freedom.”
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which funded the development of the Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine, said in a statement that Sputnik Lite has demonstrated “79.4 per cent efficacy” against COVID-19. In comparison, the main Sputnik V vaccine has demonstrated 91.6 per cent efficacy.
The results were drawn from “data are taken from 28 days after the injection was administered as part of Russia’s mass vaccination program between 5 December 2020 and 15 April 2021”, the RDIF said.
According to authorities, around 8 million Russians have so far been fully inoculated with the flagship two-dose Sputnik V, named after the Soviet-era satellite that triggered the space race in a nod to the project’s geopolitical importance for Moscow.
The European Medicines Agency has not yet approved the shot and Austria on Tuesday said it would only buy Sputnik V after EMA approval.
“The single-dose regimen solves the challenge of immunising large groups in a shorter time, which is especially important during the acute phase of the spread of coronavirus, achieving herd immunity faster,” said RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and like us on Facebook for the latest updates and interesting stories.
