Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine to be available in India by next week, here’s all you need to know

New Delhi: Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19 has arrived in India and is likely to hit markets from next week, informed NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul on Thursday (May 13, 2021) while addressing a press conference. 

Dr VK Paul, in his press briefing, said that the limited supply of Sputnik V vaccine doses, adding that the second batch is expected to arrive in India on May 14. 

“Sputnik V vaccine has arrived in India. I’m happy to say that we’re hopeful that it’ll be available in the market next week. We’re hopeful that the sale of the limited supply that has come from there (Russia), will begin next week,” he said.

It has been decided that Hyderabad-based Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories will manufacture the vaccine in India.

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is going to be India’s third COVID-19 vaccine, after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield. 

What is Sputnik V?

Sputnik V is an adenovirus-based vaccine that is being used by Russia for mass vaccination and has been approved by over 59 countries around the globe. 

Additionally, Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine shares its name with the world’s first artificial satellite made by Russia.

A leading peer-reviewed medical journal The BMJ, had earlier written on the princess of Sputnik V. The medical journal mentioned, “By the time the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic in early March 2020, the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow was already working on a prototype of Sputnik V, funded by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund.” 

How does Sputnik V work?

Sputnik V is also known as Gam-Covid-Vac. This Russian vaccine is a combination of two different adenoviruses (Ad26 and Ad5), which are the viruses that cause common cold. These adenoviruses are combined with SARS-CoV-2 for the treatment, which prompts the body to make an immune response to it, revealed The BMJ.

This method, using two doses of the same adenovirus, is used to develop immune response against COVID-19.

“The SARS-CoV-2 virus is studded with proteins that it uses to enter human cells. These so-called spike proteins make a tempting target for potential vaccines and treatments," a New York Times (NYT) report revealed. 

“Sputnik V comes out of decades of research on adenovirus-based vaccines. The first one was approved for general use last year — a vaccine for Ebola, made by Johnson & Johnson. Some other coronavirus vaccines are also based on adenoviruses, such as one from Johnson & Johnson using Ad26, and one by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca using a chimpanzee adenovirus,” it added.

Sputnik V versus Covishield/ Covaxin

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, commonly known as Covishield in India, is also based on the same philosophy. It “is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (known as an adenovirus) from chimpanzees. It has been modified to look more like coronavirus - although it can’t cause illness,” acs per a BBC report.

On the other hand, India-based Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine, which is made up of killed coronaviruses. “Bharat Biotech used a sample of the coronavirus, isolated by India’s National Institute of Virology. When administered, immune cells can still recognise the dead virus, prompting the immune system to make antibodies against the pandemic virus,” the BBC report read.

Other reports on Covaxin also added that it works by teaching the immune system to make antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

How effective is Sputnik V?

As per the leading peer-reviewed medical journal The BMJ, “Interim phase III data were published in early February 2021. The randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial included nearly 22,000 adults aged 18 years or older recruited through 25 hospitals and clinics in Moscow between 7 September and 24 November 2020. Each participant received either two doses of the vaccine, or a placebo, which were administered 21 days apart.”

Other reports on the study of Sputnik V vaccine suggest that all the participants, who were studied, developed SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and that no serious adverse events were detected.