(Image source from: indiatoday.in)

India becomes the 60th country to authorize Sputnik V vaccine in the country. This happens to be the one of the three vaccines that are registered in India for approval. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund) announces that the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the usage of Sputnik V vaccine in India. Sputnik V vaccine is given to 3 billion people across the globe which is equal to the 40 percent of the total population of the country. Dr Reddys Laboratories associated with Russian company for the clinical trials of Sputnik V. India is also the leading producer of Sputnik V in India and RDIF also inked deals with Hetero Biopharma, Gland Pharma, Stelis Biopharma, Panacea Biotech, Virchow Biotech as the production requirement is huge considering the second wave of coronavirus wave across the globe.

There are plans to produce 850 million doses of Sputnik V per year. It is ranked as the second among the list of the most approved vaccines as per the regulators of the governments. Sputnik V is approved in Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Republika Srpska (an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, 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. Sputnik V is 91.6 percent efficient.

By Siva Kumar