Russian envoy Nikolay Kudashev expresses happiness over COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V rollout in India

Russian Ambassador to India, Nikolay Kudashev on Saturday expressed his happiness over the rollout of COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V in India.

"Happy that the day, when @sputnikvaccine had rolled out in India, has come. Hope it will help our countries to cope with the global threat of #COVID19 following our special and privileged strategic partnership as well as fair and equal approach to international cooperation. Congratulations!" tweeted Kudashev.

Sputnik V has become the first foreign-made vaccine to be used in India contributing to the world's largest COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Inoculations with Sputnik V in Hyderabad started Friday followed the arrival of the first batch of the vaccine in India on May 1, 2021. The second batch of Sputnik V is expected to arrive in India by the end of the week.

With the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine receiving clearance in India, Deepak Sapra, Global Head of Custom Pharma Services at Dr Reddy's Laboratories received the first jab of the vaccine in Hyderabad on Friday.

Sputnik V was approved for use in India on April 12, 2021 and granted an emergency use authorisation. India is the leading production hub for Sputnik V.

To date Sputnik V is registered in 65 countries with total population of over 3.2 billion people. Post-vaccination studies in a number of countries demonstrated that Sputnik V is the safest and most effective vaccine against coronavirus. Sputnik V ranks second among coronavirus vaccines globally in terms of the number of approvals issued by government regulators.

The imported doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine are presently priced at Rs 948 (+5 per cent GST) per dose, with the possibility of a lower price point when local supply begins.

Efficacy of Sputnik V is 97.6 per cent based on the analysis of data on the coronavirus infection rate among those in Russia vaccinated with both components of Sputnik V from December 5, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

( With inputs from ANI )