Sputnik V Light single-shot vaccine to be soon introduced in India

May 14: On a day when Dr Reddy’s Laboratories launched Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V in India,  Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriev said that, “We hope for the introduction of Sputnik V Lite in India soon.” Sputnik V Light is a single Covid-19 dose vaccine, making it the first such jab to be made available in India. The other single-shot vaccine currently available in the global market is Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 jab.

“We are in discussions with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to import the vaccine towards the end of May,” a senior Dr. Reddy’s executive said. The single dose Sputnik Light vaccine demonstrated 79.4% efficacy according to analyzed data 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. An efficacy level of almost 80% is higher than that of many two-dose vaccines. Sputnik Light has proven effective against all new strains of coronavirus, as demonstrated by the Gamaleya Center during laboratory tests.

Earlier in the day, the first dose of Sputnik V Covid vaccine was also administered in India, becoming the third vaccine in the country which will now be used for inoculation drive.