Sputnik V vaccine priced at Rs 995 per dose in India,1st shot administered by Dr Reddy’s in Hyderbad

Mangalore Today News Network

Hyderabad, May 14, 2021:      One dose of imported Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine will cost Rs 995.40 in India, drug firm Dr Reddy’s Laboratories said on Friday. Doses of Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine that will be made in India, however, may be cheaper.

 

The imported doses of the vaccine are presently priced at a maximum retail price of Rs 948, with 5 per cent GST per dose, with the possibility of a lower price point when local supply begins, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories added.

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, to be administered in two doses, is 91.6% effective in preventing people from developing Covid-19.The soft launch of the Covid vaccine Sputnik V has commenced and the first dose of the vaccine was administered in Hyderabad, the drug firm said in a statement on Friday.

The first consignment of imported doses of the Sputnik V vaccine landed in India on May 1, and received regulatory clearance from the Central Drugs Laboratory, Kasauli, on May 13, 2021, it added.

"Further consignments of imported doses are expected over the upcoming months. Subsequently, supply of the Sputnik V vaccine will commence from Indian manufacturing partners," it added.

Amid shortage of Covishield and Covaxin in India, the Centre on Thursday said that over two billion doses will be made available in the country in five months between August and December, enough to vaccinate the entire population. V K Paul, Member (Health), Niti Aayog, added that the Russian anti-Covid vaccine Sputnik V is likely to be available by next week.

All About Sputnik V

Paving the way for a third Covid-19 vaccine to be available in India, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had in April granted permission for restricted emergency use of Russia’s Sputnik V jab. Dr Reddys has partnered with the Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to bring the Sputnik V vaccine to India and other countries.

The trials of the vaccine have been conducted in Russia, India, the UAE and the vaccine demonstrated an efficacy of 91.6 per cent. Clinical trial data published in The Lancet has indicated that the vaccine "appears safe and effective".

The vaccine is the only one other than that of Pfizer and Moderna to demonstrate efficacy of more than 91.6 per cent against Covid-19 when taken in two doses, 21 days apart. This was found in interim results of Phase 3 trials conducted in Russia on more than 20,000 volunteers aged above 18 years.

This vaccine can be stored in two forms. In the liquid form, it requires a temperature of -18 degrees C and in the powdered form it requires a temperature storage of 2-8 degree Celsius, meaning it can be stored in conventional refrigerators and does not require an additional cold-chain infrastructure.

Sputnik V will be produced in India from July onwards as India looks to produce 15.6 crore doses of the Russian vaccine.

How is Sputnik V administered?

The vaccine is given (0·5 mL/dose) intramuscularly in a prime-boost regimen. But unlike other similar vaccines, the Sputnik jab uses two slightly different versions for the first and second dose. The first dose (rAd26) is a different vector and the second dose is (rAd5). But, both vectors carry the gene for full-length SARS-CoV-2 glycoprotein or protein S.

They both target the coronavirus’s distinctive "spike", but use different vectors -- the neutralised virus that carries the spike to the body. The idea is that using two different formulas boost the immune system even more than using the same version twice.

Sputnik V already in use in these countries

The vaccine is presently being used in 60 countries -- Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Republika Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain.

Some other countries are Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Gabon, San-Marino, Ghana, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Guyana, Egypt, Honduras, Guatemala, Moldova, Slovakia, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Laos, Iraq, North Macedonia, Kenya, Morocco, Jordan, Namibia, Azerbaijan, Philippines, Cameroon, Seychelles, Mauritius, Vietnam, Antigua and Barbuda, Mali and Panama.

Courtesy:India Today