Digital Desk: The Indian drug regulator said okay to Russia's Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine for restricted use in the country. The Russian Direct Investment Fund has informed about the news of approval on Sunday.
Sputnik Light falls into the list of vaccines approved by India. This vaccine is the 9th Covid-19 vaccine which has been granted restricted-use approval by the Drugs Controller General of India for adults in India.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced its approval through his Twitter handle. He tweeted, "This will further strengthen the nation's collective fight against the pandemic."
Russia's Gamaleya Center makes Sputnik Light. It is developed on a human adenovirus vector medium – when instructions are transmitted through a representative and an innocuous virus to start an immune reaction.
Sputnik Light is identical to component-1 of the Russian two-dose Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine that has been employed in India's vaccination drive. The nation has administered nearly 12 lakh shots of Sputnik V in the vaccination drive so far.
The decision of this vaccine's approval for restricted usage comes days after the matter expert committee on vaccines suggested DCGI grant emergency use authorization (EUA) to Russia's Sputnik Light.
According to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which supports and invests in Sputnik, the single-shot vaccine exhibited approximately 70 per cent effectiveness against the deadly virus by the Delta variant.
RDIF stated, "A preliminary analysis of the Gamaleya Center has uncovered the vaccine significantly expands virus-neutralizing movement against Omicron established on sera 2-3 months after revaccination with 100% of people revaccinated with Sputnik Light as a booster having generated offsetting antibodies against this variant."
RDIF's head Kirill Dmitriev also commented on the usage of the vaccine. He stated, "the solution to increasing effectiveness and course of other vaccines, including against Omicron variant".
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