Sputnik V vaccine for Covid-19, being developed by Russia’s Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology

Sputnik V vaccine for Covid-19, being developed by Russia’s Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, has demonstrated an efficacy rate of 92 per cent.

The confirmation is based on the first interim data from the Phase-III clinical trials in Russia involving 40,000 volunteers, a press release from Gamaleya and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said.

Covid-19 vaccine

The trials evaluated the efficacy among over 16,000 volunteers who received the vaccine or placebo 21 days after the first injection.

As a result of a statistical analysis of 20 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the case split between vaccinated individuals and those who received the placebo indicating that the Sputnik V vaccine had an efficacy rate of 92 per cent after the second dose, the release said.

In September 2020, Dr. Reddys and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund entered into a partnership to conduct clinical trials of Sputnik V vaccine and its distribution in India.

Covid-19 vaccine

On August 11, 2020, the Sputnik V vaccine was registered by the Ministry of Health of Russia and became the world’s first registered vaccine against Covid-19 based on the human adenoviral vectors platform.

Separately, in September the vaccine was first administered to a group of volunteers from the 'red zones' of Russian hospitals. As of November 11, as part of the clinical trials in Russia’s 29 medical centres, more than 20,000 volunteers were vaccinated with the first dose and over 16,000 volunteers with the first and the second dose of the vaccine.

Covid-19 vaccine

In addition, as on the date, no unexpected adverse events were identified as part of the research. Some of those vaccinated had short-term minor adverse effects such as pain at the injection site, flu-like syndrome, including fever, weakness, fatigue, and headache, according to the release.

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE on Monday said their vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90 per cent effective in preventing Covid-19.