Russia to begin trials of single-dose 'Sputnik Light' coronavirus vaccine
Sputnik vaccine
Russia is planning to begin trials of a single-dose version of its Sputnik V vaccine, officials claimed on Monday. "Sputnik Light" will be a single-dose derivative of the original vaccine, as the country tries to keep up with global demand for vaccines.
In August 2020, Russia became the first country in the world to register a coronavirus vaccine. Since then, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) which was responsible for financing and developing the vaccine claims to have inoculated 1.5 million people around the world against COVID-19.
"Sputnik Light" will be less effective than its double-dose version, but could provide temporary relief to countries that are hardest-hit.
RDIF's head Kirill Dmitriyev was quoted by AFP as saying that the "one component" version of Sputnik V could be used as an "effective temporary solution" for countries that are currently facing a surge in the number of infections.
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By registering the vaccine in August, Russia became the first country in the world to register a vaccine, way before its western counterparts. However, the country had gone ahead with registration before the trials had begun, spurring fears of the safety imbued in the vaccine.
In early December, Russia began mass vaccinations across the country, even when the vaccine remained in the third phase of clinical trials. Critics saw it as a move by Russia to strengthen its geopolitical influence.
The developers of Sputnik V claim that the vaccine is over 90 per cent effective while adding that over a billion doses of the vaccines had been pre-ordered across the globe.
During an interview in December, Dmitriyev had claimed that the light version of the vaccine would offer 85 per cent efficacy, 5 per cent lesser than its original counterpart.
After claims of 1.5 global inoculations went public, public interest in the vaccine heightened. So far, Moscow had sent batches of its vaccine to Belarus, Serbia, and Argentina. In these countries, the vaccine was registered under an emergency use authorisation programme.
In a statement on Monday, the RDIF had added that Palestinian authorities had also approved the vaccine for emergency use. The delivery of the vaccine is slated for the first quarter of 2021.