Russia’s COVID-19 Vaccine Sputnik V: First Batch Released For Public

The first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine has been released for the public, with plans for regional deliveries in the near future.

As per the information from the Russian Health Ministry, the vaccine against coronavirus, developed by Russia’s Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), has cleared the quality tests and has been released for civil circulation.

“The first batch of the ‘Gam-COVID-Vac’ (Sputnik V) vaccine for the prevention of the new coronavirus infection, developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of Russia, has passed the necessary quality tests in the laboratories of Roszdravnadzor (medical device regulator) and has been released into civil circulation,” the ministry said in a statement.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has expressed hope to vaccinate a majority of the Russian capital’s residents against the coronavirus within several months.

Sputnik V vaccine was the first vaccine against COVID-19, registered by the Russian Health Ministry on August 11, 2020. Named as homage to the world’s first artificial Earth satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, Sputnik V is actually a recombinant adenovirus vaccine – which uses harmless adenovirus, a group of common cold viruses, tweaked to contain the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. This gives the immune system the chance to recognize and respond to the virus, without the risk of getting sick.

If the mass vaccination plan of Russia goes successfully as planned, the country will see the end of COVID-19 by next summer. Russia is also expected to complete early-stage trails on a second potential vaccine against the deadly coronavirus this month.

Russia is also in the talks with India, “on different levels” about cooperation that may include “supplies, co-development and co-production” of Sputnik V. Russia has also shared “comprehensive data” on the vaccine’s safety with the Indian government.