Russia's Sputnik Light to be launched in India by December, says RDIF CEO

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriev on Wednesday, 24 November said that country’s Sputnik light COVID vaccine is to be launched in India by December. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he had taken an experimental nasal vaccine against COVID-19, just three days after he received his booster shot. While Sputnik V is Russia’s indigenously produced vaccine against Coronavirus, its one-dose version is called Sputnik Light and is still between clinical trials. In India, the Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories is the only distributor of Sputnik V under an agreement with the RDIF. 

On Sunday, 14 November, Putin reportedly received the booster shot of Sputnik Light and also said that he wanted to take part in testing the nasal version of Sputnik V. As per AP report, Denis Logunov, deputy director of Russia’s state-funded Gamaleya Center that developed Sputnik V also told Putin on Sunday that the nasal vaccine is yet to be tested on the members of the public and is presently being studied “off-label mostly, as usual, we’re testing it on staff members, monitoring.”

How long till Sputnik Light is approved?

Reportedly, Sputnik Light, which is the single-dose, nasal version of two-dose Sputnik V, will be subjected to a range of trial phases in accordance with the established scientific protocols. Putin told in a government meeting on Wednesday that “Exactly six months after vaccination my titers of protective (antibodies) have dropped, and specialists recommended the procedure of revaccination, which I did.” 

The Russian President also said that he did not experience any unpleasant effects after taking the nasal vaccine. Meanwhile, Kazakh Health Ministry Alexei Tsoi, according to local media reports, said that Kazakhstan is in talks with Russia on possible supplies of the Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine. As per the Kazinform report, Tsoi said that the information on the possible supply of the single-dose vaccine was requested from the Russian colleagues. 

(IMAGE: @SputnikVaccine-Twitter/AP)