Russia’s single-dose Sputnik Light can be new hope to fasten COVID vaccination drive in India

New Delhi: There is a possibility of a speedy launch of single-dose COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik Light in India, and an application seeking regulatory approval for the jab is expected to be filed soon, the sources said on Tuesday.

According to the sources Dr. Reddy’s in talks with the Government of India to bring Russia’s Sputnik Light vaccine to India.

The Sputnik Light can become the first single-dose vaccine to be launched in India. Sputnik Light has already been approved and trials are already started in some other countries. Twenty-eight days after vaccination Sputnik Light vaccine was 79.4 per cent effective against the coronavirus. The trials were focused only on Russians who were not administered the second dose. Phase 3 clinical trials, involved 7,000 people and were conducted in countries Russia, the UAE, and Ghana.

Sputnik Light is a single-dose vaccine that can be useful to boost the country’s requirement and target to increase maximum vaccination drive.

While the biggest commercial consignment of Sputnik-V vaccines arrived in Hyderabad on Tuesday early morning at 3:40 am with three million doses.

Apollo hospitals have already announced that it will start administering Sputnik-V across its hospitals in India from the second week of June at an estimated price Rs 1,195 per dose.

Sputnik V has been already administered in India after Bridge clinical trial. Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has tied up with five Indian vaccine makers who will be producing over 850 million doses of the Sputnik V.