The Russian Covid vaccine, Sputnik V, has demonstrated 80 per cent efficacy against Covid from the sixth to eighth month after administering the second dose, as per the real-world data of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of San Marino, according to Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
Announcing this in a virtual briefing from Moscow on Wednesday, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO, RDIF said: “Efficacy of Sputnik V on 6-8 months is much higher than officially published efficacy of mRNA vaccines.” The Sputnik team believes that adenoviral vaccines provide for longer efficacy than mRNA vaccines due to longer antibody and T-cell response, he added. The data is based on the number of Covid infections in San Marino in November.
Efficacy was calculated based on data obtained from over 18,600 individuals fully-vaccinated with Sputnik V not less than five months before November.
Covid surge in Europe
Referring to recent surge in new Covid cases in Europe, the CEO said it was possibly due to the decline in Pfizer vaccine’s efficiency to less than 50 per cent in five months (after vaccination).
“Russia has far less new Covid cases compared to the US and most of EU despite its much lower vaccination rates,” Dmitriev claimed.
“A combination of SputnikLight with other mRNA vaccines provides higher safety,” said the RDIF chief, adding that Covishied of Serum Institute and SputnikLight combination will also offer the same effectiveness.
On the production of Sputnik V, the RDIF CEO said current production was at 100 million doses per month, adding that India was playing a key role in its production.
While Dr Reddy’s is the brand custodian for Sputnik V in India, RDIF has inked manufacturing contracts with other drug-makers, including Hetero and Gland Pharma. SputnikLight will be registered soon in India, he added.