Govt approves Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V
New Delhi: As India faces second wave of novel coronavirus cases and vaccine shortage, the expert panel of country’s drug regulator on Monday approved the use of Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine.
The decision comes after Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)’s Subject Expert Committee (SEC) met today to take up Sputnik V application for Emergency Use Authorisation in India. The vaccine would be imported from Russia for emergency use in the country, they said.
In September last year, Dr Reddy’s partnered with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to conduct clinical trials of Sputnik V and for its distribution rights in India. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has already given the emergency use authorisation for two Covid-19 vaccines — Covaxin of Bharat Biotech and Covishield of Oxford-AstraZeneca, being manufactured by Serum Institute of India in Pune.
Sputnik V has demonstrated an efficacy rate of 91.6 per cent in the interim analysis of the phase 3 clinical trial, which included data on 19,866 volunteers in Russia.
India is currently in the third phase of its mega Covid-19 vaccination drive which commenced on 16 January, 2021. In total 10,45,28,565 vaccine doses have been administered through 15,56,361 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am on Monday.