As the world continues to fight deadly waves of coronavirus infection, there’s some good news on the vaccine front. Russian health officials have approved a single-dose version of the Sputnik V vaccine. Sputnik Light has showed nearly 80 per cent efficacy in tests. “Sputnik Light is a fast and reliable pandemic fighter. It helps to achieve a high level of protection quicker, helping to swiftly defeat virus surges and create lasting protection in the community,” Sputnik said in a tweet.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, a statement issued by Sputnik said.An efficacy level of almost 80% is higher than that of many two-dose vaccines. Phase I/II of the Safety and Immunogenicity Study of the Sputnik Light vaccine has demonstrated that:-Sputnik Light can elicit the development of antigen specific IgG antibodies in 96.9% of individuals on the 28th day after vaccination.-The Sputnik Light vaccine elicits the development of virus neutralizing antibodies in 91.67% of individuals on the 28th day post immunization.-Cellular immune response against the S Protein of SARS-CoV-2 develops in 100% of volunteers on the 10th day.-The immunization of individuals with pre-existing immunity against SARS-CoV-2 with Sputnik Light can elicit the increase of the level of antigen specific IgG antibodies by more than 40x in 100% of subjects 10 days after immunization.-No serious adverse events were registered after vaccination with Sputnik Light.Sputnik V in India India has approved the use of Russia’s two-dose Sputnik V vaccine making it the third Covid vaccine after Covishield of Oxford-AstraZeneca, manufactured by Serum Institute of India in Pune, and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to be used in the country.As many as 150,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine first consignment landed in Hyderabad from Russia last week.Indian drugmaker Dr Reddys Laboratories, which has tied up with Russian Direct Investment Fund for the vaccine, said in a statement that the initial quantity will be used across different channels as a pilot to line up the supply chain for the larger vaccination program rollout.Dr Reddys has already received approval from Indian drug regulator for restricted emergency use ofSputnik V.
