Russia authorises single-dose Sputnik Light COVID vaccine for use

Russia has authorised the one-shot Sputnik Light version of its COVID-19 vaccine for use, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said, a move that could help vaccine supplies go further in countries with high infection rates.

Developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, the slimmed-down vaccine, which the RDIF said is 79.4 per cent effective against COVID-19 and costs under $10 a dose, has been earmarked for export and could increase the number of people with partial immunity.

One of its main potential uses is as a vaccine that can be shipped to a country in the grip of an acute outbreak that needs to be subdued quickly.

“The single-dose Sputnik Light vaccine demonstrated 79.4 per cent efficacy according to analysed data taken from 28 days after the injection was administered as part of Russia’s mass vaccination programme between 5 December 2020 and 15 April 2021,” the RDIF said in a statement.

A Phase III clinical trial involving 7,000 people was under way in Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Ghana and other countries, the RDIF said. Interim results are expected later this month.

According to authorities, around 8 million Russians have so far been fully inoculated with the flagship two-dose Sputnik V, named after the Soviet-era satellite that triggered the space race in a nod to the project’s geopolitical importance for Moscow.

Russian scientists last month said Sputnik V was 97.6 per cent effective against COVID-19 in a “real-world” assessment based on data from 3.8 million people.

“The single-dose regimen solves the challenge of immunising large groups in a shorter time, which is especially important during the acute phase of the spread of coronavirus, achieving herd immunity faster,” said RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev.

He added that the two-dose Sputnik V vaccine would remain the main source of vaccination in Russia, which has already authorised two other vaccines for use.

(Edits by EP News Bureau)