Health officials in Russia has authorized the one-shot Sputnik Light version of its COVID-19 vaccine for use, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced on Thursday (May 6).
The developers of the vaccine in a statement said that Sputnik Light “demonstrated 79.4% efficacy” compared to 91.6% for the two-shot Sputnik V.
“Sputnik Light is a fast and reliable pandemic fighter. It helps to achieve a high level of protection quicker, helping to swiftly defeat virus surges and create lasting protection in the community,” Sputnik said in a tweet.
“The single dose Sputnik Light vaccine demonstrated 79.4% efficacy according to analyzed data taken from 28 days after the injection was administered as part of Russia’s mass vaccination program between 5 December 2020 and 15 April 2021,” a statement issued by Sputnik said.
Sputnik Light has proven effective against all new strains of coronavirus, as demonstrated by the Gamaleya Center during laboratory tests, it said.
Phase I/II of the Safety and Immunogenicity Study of the Sputnik Light vaccine has demonstrated that:
1. Sputnik Light can elicit the development of antigen specific IgG antibodies in 96.9% of individuals on the 28th day after vaccination.
2. The Sputnik Light vaccine elicits the development of virus neutralizing antibodies in 91.67% of individuals on the 28th day post immunization.
3. Cellular immune response against the S Protein of SARS-CoV-2 develops in 100% of volunteers on the 10th day.
4. The immunization of individuals with pre-existing immunity against SARS-CoV-2 with Sputnik Light can elicit the increase of the level of antigen specific IgG antibodies by more than 40x in 100% of subjects 10 days after immunization.
5. No serious adverse events were registered after vaccination with Sputnik Light.
An efficacy level of almost 80% is higher than that of many two-dose vaccines.
Sputnik Light is a fast and reliable pandemic fighter. It helps to achieve a high level of protection quicker, helping to swiftly defeat virus surges and create lasting protection in the community. pic.twitter.com/oF1s1HrrMR
— Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) May 6, 2021
“The single-dose regimen solves the challenge of immunising large groups in a shorter time, which is especially important during the acute phase of the spread of coronavirus, achieving herd immunity faster,” said RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev.
He added that the two-dose Sputnik V vaccine would remain the main source of vaccination in Russia, which has already authorized two other vaccines for use.
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