Sputnik V vaccine effective against new variants of coronavirus: Study

The Russia-made Sputnik vaccine is effective against all the new variants of the coronavirus, the Gamaleya institute has said. It is developing the vaccine against Covid-19, along with Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

The Gamaleya institue said that during a study conducted by it, vaccination with Sputnik V has produced protective neutralising titers against new variants, including Alpha (B.1.1.7) - first identified in UK - Beta (B.1.351) - first identified in South Africa - Gamma (P.1) - first identified in Brazil - and Delta (B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3), first identified in India.

The vaccine is also able top provide protection against Moscow endemic variants B.1.1.141 and B.1.1.317, the institute further said.

The Gamaleya institute study methodology was based on the assessment of virus neutralising activity (VNA) using the live virus. It said that the sera were obtained from individuals after vaccination with two doses of Sputnik V.

The vaccine is a two-dose shot (but two unidentical doses unlike other two-dose vaccines) that is 91.6% effective in preventing serious illness as was found in phase 3 clinical trials.

It has so far been registered in 67 countries globally with a total population of over 3.5 billion people, said the Gamaleya institute.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, which is marketing the product in India, said that Sputnik V could be commercially launched “in the coming week” in the country.

"Starting initially in Hyderabad today, the soft launch rollout of Sputnik V has scaled up speedily and reached cities and towns all over India- including but not limited to Hyderabad, Vizag, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, NCR, Chennai, Miryalaguda, Vijayawada, Baddi, Kolhapur, Kochi, Raipur, Chandigarh, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik," it said in a tweet on Monday.

The Indian drug regulator has granted permission for restricted emergency use of Sputnik V.