Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine recommended for inoculation in India

NEW DELHI: The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention today approved Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine and recommended it for use in the country in view of rapid increase in cases.

Sputnik V has been recommended for use by a committee of experts, and if approved by the regulator Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), it will be the third vaccine after Covishield from Serum Institute of India and Covaxin from Bharat Biotech.

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After the Moderna and Pfizer shots, Sputnik V, manufactured in India by Dr Reddy's, has the highest effectiveness (91.6 per cent). Dr Reddy's had applied for emergency use of the vaccine, which is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials in India, on February 19.

According to the sources, the vaccine must be approved by the DCGI after the Subject Expert Committee's (SEC) recommendation before it can be used to inoculate citizen.

The committee had asked Dr Reddy's to request data on how the shot stimulates the body's immune response against the coronavirus at its last meeting on April 1.

The panel also requested unblinded reports on all serious adverse events; “unblinded” refers to participants knowing if the shot they received was the vaccine or a placebo.

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It was also decided to conduct a comparative analysis of phase III data produced on the Indian and Russian studies at different times.

Sputnik-V trials are currently under way in India for approximately 1,600 people aged 18 to 99.

The vaccine is also being tested in the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Belarus.

According to sources, the dry form of the vaccine can be stored at 2 to 8 degrees Centigrade.

Five more vaccines are expected to be in use in India by October.

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