Sputnik vaccines induce robust neutralizing antibody response to Omicron, says RDIF

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Friday said that Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines induce robust neutralizing antibody response to COVID-19 variant Omicron.

As per RDIF, Sputnik V vaccination is further strengthened by Sputnik Light booster, performing 3-7x better than other (including mRNA) vaccines.

It demonstrated high virus-neutralizing activity (VNA) against the Omicron variant and is also expected to provide a strong defence against severe disease and hospitalization.

"Virus neutralizing antibodies against Omicron 2-3 months after Sputnik Light booster were higher than antibodies developed against wild-type 6 months after Sputnik V vaccination. Based on these data the expected efficacy of Sputnik V with Sputnik Light booster against Omicron could be more than 80 per cent," said RDIF.

100 per cent of individuals are re-vaccinated with Sputnik Light as a booster developed neutralizing antibodies against Omicron based on sera 2-3 months after the re-vaccination, it said.

Sputnik Light has already been registered in more than 20 countries as a standalone vaccine and a universal booster to other vaccines helping to increase their efficacy (including in Argentina, UAE, Bahrain, Philippines, and San Marino). Sputnik V has been authorized in 71 countries with a total population of over 4 billion people, said RDIF.

"Sputnik Light has already shown strong results used as a booster in mix & match trials in Argentina. A combination of Sputnik Light with vaccines produced by AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Moderna and Cansino, conducted in 5 provinces (City and Province of Buenos Aires, as well as Cordoba, La Rioja and San Luis) has demonstrated that Sputnik Light induces stronger antibody and T-cell response as compared to the homologous regimen (two shots of the same vaccine)," RDIF said.

Each "vaccine cocktail" combination with Sputnik Light provided higher antibody titer on the 14th day after administering a second dose when compared to original homogenous (same vaccine as first and second dose) regimens of each of the vaccines, it added.

( With inputs from ANI )