MOSCOW — The Russian Direct Investment Fund. a sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, said that the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration approved the single-component Sputnik Light coronavirus vaccine under the emergency use authorization procedure on Aug. 23.
“The approval of Sputnik Light by the regulatory authorities of the Philippines allows for expanding national vaccine portfolio through adding another Russian coronavirus vaccine, which has demonstrated safety and high efficacy in many countries,” said Kirill Dmitriev, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), in a statement.
“A single-shot Sputnik Light has efficacy higher than that of many foreign two-dose vaccines and enables to vaccinate more people in a shorter time frame.”
Sputnik Light vaccine based on human adenovirus serotype 26 is the first component of the Sputnik V vaccine.
“Immunization with Sputnik Light will help the Philippines to significantly reduce the infection rate in the country and create herd immunity in a short time frame,” said the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
In March 2021, the two-dose Sputnik V vaccine was approved in the Philippines under the emergency use authorization procedure. Sputnik V has been authorized in 69 countries with a total population of over 3.7 billion people.
“Philippines was among the first to show interest in the Sputnik vaccine after it was registered in Russia. The vaccine was granted an emergency use authorization in the Philippines today after a thorough review of the data and will become one of the key tools to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country,” said Dmitriev in a statement in March 2021.
“Philipines is one of the most populated nations of South East Asia. Diversification of the national vaccine portfolio through registration of Sputnik V provides people of the Philippines with access to one of the best vaccines, which is already saving lives around the world.”
“Sputnik Light is safe and highly effective as demonstrated by the real-world vaccination data in several countries,” said the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
“In particular, the Ministry of Health of the Buenos Aires province (Argentina) data shows 78.6-83.7 percent efficacy among the elderly. In Paraguay, Sputnik Light is 93.5 percent effective during the ongoing vaccination campaign, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.”
Studies on the combination of Sputnik Light with other vaccines are ongoing in Argentina, Azerbaijan, UAE. They have been approved in Russia and Belarus.
Sputnik Light has proven effective against all new coronavirus strains, as demonstrated by the Gamaleya Center during laboratory tests, and is compatible with standard vaccine storage and logistics requirements.
(With inputs from ANI)
Edited by Saptak Datta and Ritaban Misra
