Sputnik V Vaccine UPSC | Uses, Causes, Efficacy, Side Effects, Doses – Sputnik V, the vaccine against Covid-19 developed by Russia, has been cleared for emergency use by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). It is now the third coronavirus vaccine to get emergency use approval, after Covishield (Serum Institute of India) and Covaxin (Bharat Biotech).
About the Sputnik V Vaccine:
- The Sputnik V vaccine has been developed by Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow.
- It uses two different viruses that cause the common cold (adenovirus) in humans.
- The adenoviruses are weakened so they cannot replicate in humans and cannot cause disease.
- They are also modified so that the vaccine delivers a code for making the coronavirus spike protein.
- This aims to ensure that when the real virus tries to infect the body, it can mount an immune response in the form of antibodies.
- Sputnik uses a different vector for each of the two shots in a course of vaccination. This provides immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.
- The two shots are given 21 days apart.
- Sputnik V is to be stored at -18°C in its liquid form. However, in its freeze-dried form, it can be stored at 2-8°C, in a conventional refrigerator without any need to invest in additional cold-chain infrastructure.
| Origin of Vaccine | Russia |
| Developed By | Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow. |
| Storage Temperature | -18°C in its liquid form. |
| Efficacy Rate | 91.6 per cent |
| Doses Required For Vaccination | Two |
Concerns Regarding the Vaccine
- Experts expressed concerns over the safety and efficacy of the vaccine due to its extremely fast
- production and lack of published data on the vaccine.
- Russia has only made public the results of phase-I of the clinical trials, which it claimed were
- successful and produced the desired immune response.
- The human trials, which take several years in normal circumstances, have been completed in
- less than two months for Sputnik V.
- The late-phase human trials are important because the vaccine‟s efficacy can differ on different
- population groups.
- Russia, however, has claimed that this was made possible due to the fact that its Covid-19 vaccine candidate closely resembled a vaccine for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) disease,caused by another coronavirus, that had already been tested extensively.
Covid Vaccine List UPSC | Corona Vaccines Development In India UPSC
What Is The Efficacy Rate Of Sputnik V Vaccine ?
- Phase 3 trials conducted in Russia, with the results published in The Lancet, have found it has an efficacy of 91.6%.
- In India, Dr Reddy’s conducted a bridging study after which it applied for emergency use approval.
- Trial participants were given the first dose (rAd26-) followed by a booster dose (rAd5-S) 21 days later.
Sputnik V Covid vaccine to cost Rs 995
- The country is looking to produce 15.6 crore doses of the Russian Covid vaccine
- The imported doses of Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine will cost ?995.40 per shot, said the company’s partner in India Dr Reddy’s Laboratories
