Russia expects WHO to approve Sputnik V vaccine within 2 months

Russia expects the World Health Organization (WHO) to approve the Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus within two months, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) which markets the vaccine, told Reuters.

He said the European Medicines Agency (EMA) which is also reviewing Sputnik V “was provided with all basic existing information, there is no critical remarks for now at all”.

According to RDIF, their COVID-19 vaccine has a number of key advantages:

Efficacy of Sputnik V is 97.6% based on the analysis of data on the coronavirus infection rate among those in Russia vaccinated with both components of the vaccine from December 5, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years.

Sputnik V uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.

The safety, efficacy and lack of negative long-term effects of adenoviral vaccines have been proven by more than 250 clinical studies over two decades.

There are no strong allergies caused by it.

The storage temperature of Sputnik V at +2+8 C means it can be stored in a conventional refrigerator without any need to invest in additional cold-chain infrastructure.

The price of the vaccine is less than $10 per shot, making it affordable around the world.