Russia’s Sputnik V is the third COVID-19 vaccine to be approved in India. While it’s being rolled out in some parts of the country, there has been confusion over whether it is a single-dose or double-dose vaccine.
The vaccine will be manufactured by six partner companies in India, including Dr Reddy’s.
To set the matter straight, Sputnik V is a two-dose vaccine, to be administered 21 days apart. But there is another version of the vaccine, named Sputnik Light, which is a single-dose vaccine.
The single-dose variant has already been approved in Russia and has an efficacy of 79.4 per cent.
Technically, it is the first shot of Sputnik V. The two-dose vaccine enhances the efficacy to 91.6 per cent.
It remains to be seen if, and when, it is approved by regulators in India.
The two-dose imported Sputnik V vaccine is being rolled out at 35 centres across India. The second batch of the vaccine arrived on Sunday morning.
A Sputnik V dose will cost ₹995.40 in India.
WHO’s approval for the vaccine is pending.
