The Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V is likely to be available to the general public from 20 June at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, while Dr Reddy’s Laboratories began administering it to its employees in Delhi on Sunday, according to a hospital representative.
Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories launched the Sputnik V vaccine in India, and the first phase of a limited pilot vaccination programme by Apollo Hospitals and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories had started on 17 May in Hyderabad and on 18 May in Vishakhapatnam.
A first consignment of 500 doses of the vaccine has arrived at Delhi and is being administered to Dr Reddy’s employees in the city. “The next consignment is expected before 20 June, and the plan is to begin offering it to the public starting from that date,” said a hospital official.
A single dose of the vaccine would cost Rs 1,145 as set by the Central government. Apart from the Apollo hospital, another private hospital Madhukar Rainbow Children’s Hospital will start administering the Sputnik V by the end of this week.
The Sputnik V vaccine was accorded emergency use authorisation by the Drugs Controller General of India, joining Covishield and the indigenous Covaxin in the battle against Covid-19. The first dose of the imported vaccine was administered in Hyderabad last month. The maximum price of Covishield for private Covid-19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs) has been fixed at Rs 780 per dose, while that of Covaxin is Rs 1,410 per dose. Those who want to take the jab have to register at the CoWin app, or can register for the vaccine via the CoWin portal.
India, the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer, has been able to vaccinate around 3% of its population.
The Russia-developed Sputnik V vaccine has been found to more efficient against the highly transmissible Delta variant of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), which was found in India, according to a study.
The drug has been found to be more efficient against the variant than any other vaccine used to fight the viral contagion in the study, Sputnik V’s official handle posted on Twitter.
“SputnikV is more efficient against the Delta variant of coronavirus, first detected in India than any other vaccine that published results on this strain so far—the Gamaleya Center study submitted for publication in an international peer-reviewed journal,” said a tweet shared by Sputnik V.
Developed in Russia by Gamaleya Institute, Sputnik V is reported to show over 91.6% efficacy against coronavirus. The drug has been authorised in 67 countries across the world. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on June 10 announced that the efficacy of the Sputnik V was estimated at 94.3% during a vaccination campaign by Bahrain’s ministry of health. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet approved Sputnik V as an emergency vaccine.
