Russia approved the use of the single-dose Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine.
Russia on Thursday approved the use of the single-dose Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine after approving the use of the two-dose Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.
According to Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Russia had authorized the use of a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine called “Sputnik Light,” a move designed to boost vaccine supplies in countries with surging coronavirus infection rates.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said that Sputnik Light — a slimmed-down COVID-19 vaccine developed by Gamaleya Research Institute — has an efficacy rate of 79.4 percent and would cost less than USD 10 per dose.
According to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the Sputnik Light — the first component of Russia’s flagship two-dose Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine — was compatible with standard vaccine storage and logistics requirements.
It claimed one of the potential uses of the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine was for the inoculation of a larger number of people in a shorter time frame, noting that it can be shipped at speed to a country amid an acute outbreak.
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The Russian Direct Investment Fund also said that the late-stage Phase III clinical trials involving 7,000 people were underway in Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Ghana, among other countries, and the interim results were expected to release later this month.
Phase I and Phase II clinical trial results of the single-dose Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, found the shot demonstrated safety for all subjects and no serious adverse events were registered.
“The single-dose regimen solves the challenge of immunizing large groups in a shorter time, which is especially important during the acute phase of the spread of coronavirus, achieving herd immunity faster. The Sputnik Light vaccine will be exported to our international partners to help increase the rate of vaccinations in a number of countries in the face of the ongoing fight with the pandemic and new strains of coronavirus,” RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said in a statement.
Dmitriev also said that while the single-dose Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine had “an affordable price” of under USD 10, the two-dose Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine “remains the main source of vaccination in Russia”.
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