India moved a step closer to having a third vaccine in its immunisation drive against COVID-19 when the first consignment of Russia’s Sputnik V landed in Hyderabad on Saturday.
“We are pleased to announce that the first consignment of 1,50,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine has landed in Hyderabad from Russia,” said Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories CEO-API and Services Deepak Sapra.
It comes at a time when India has begun a vaccination programme for those aged 18-44 years — till now those 45 years and above were covered — even as some States reported a shortage of vaccine.
Sputnik V will join Covishield and the indigenous Covaxin that are being used in the country since January.
Also read: Imported Sputnik V to be available this quarter: Dr. Reddy’s
Based on the human adenoviral vector platform, the Russian vaccine received emergency use authorisation in India last month. The efficacy of Sputnik V has been reported to be 91.6%.
Supply chain
A statement from Dr. Reddy’s, which is the marketing partner of the Russian Direct Investment Fund for Sputnik V in India, said the roll-out of the consignment will be subject to [getting] the necessary clearances, which will be processed over the next few days. “This initial quantity will be used across different channels as a pilot to line up our supply chain for the larger vaccination programme roll-out. Subsequent consignments will arrive in the next few weeks,” Mr.Sapra said.
As some top level executives of the company had recently said, the vaccine looks set to join the immunisation programme by this month. But clarity on the price at which Sputnik V will be made available is yet to emerge. Discussions on this were under way, sources said. The two dose vaccine has been priced around $10 for a shot in other markets globally.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) was among the first to announce the arrival of the Sputnik V consignment. Retweeting its “Hyderabad Customs, @cgstcushyd facilitated expeditious clearance of Sputnik V Vaccine imported from Russia,” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it was an appropriate timely response and the need of the hour.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Sputnik V will add to India’s arsenal to fight the pandemic. “This third option will augment our vaccine capacity and accelerate our vaccination drive,” he tweeted. Millions of doses are expected to follow and there are also plans to make the vaccine in India, including for exports to other countries.
The RDIF has already formed manufacturing partnerships with at least five companies in India for producing about 850 million doses of the vaccine a year.
