Sputnik V vaccine to be available in 9 more cities including Mumbai & Bengaluru; see list

On Wednesday, June 16, Dr Reddy’s, Sputnik V's local distribution partner, in a statement said that the project launch of the Russian COVID vaccine Sputnik V has been extended to nine other cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Baddi, Kolhapur and Miryalaguda. The vaccine was initially launched only in Hyderabad. 

Sputnik V registration

Dr Reddy’s said that people cannot register for the Russian vaccine through the CoWIN portal yet and that facility will be available only when it is commercially launched. Dr Reddy’s further informed that the pilot launch is in its final leg and necessary arrangements are being made to ensure the availability of both doses. 

On May 17, the pilot programme for Sputnik was launched by Dr Reddy’s in collaboration with Apollo Hospitals, after it received clearance from the drug regulator for emergency use in April. On May 15 under the pilot launch, the first dose of the vaccine was administered in Hyderabad. 

Efficacy of Sputnik V

According to the recent updates, the Russian vaccine has a high efficacy rate of 91.6 per cent against the Coronavirus. As per the Centre’s pricing schedule, it will be priced at Rs 1,145, including hospital charges and tax. 

On June 10, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), announced that the efficacy of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination campaign by Bahrain's Ministry of Health was estimated to be at 94.3 per cent. 

The Health Ministry report

The Union Health Ministry said that the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has gone past 26.53 crores, including more than 4.81 crore doses administered to people aged between 18-44 years.

The health ministry also added that on Wednesday, 20,67,085 beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group received the first dose and 67,447 got the second dose of the vaccine.

Cumulatively, 4,72,06,953 people in the said age group have received the first dose and 9,68,098 have been given the second dose since the start of the third phase of the vaccination drive across the country.

Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have administered the first dose of the vaccine to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries each in the 18-44 age group.

The ministry underlined that the vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level.

(Image credit: PTI)