Covid-19 crisis: Here's all you need to know about Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine rollout in India

The rollout of 1.5 lakh doses of the vaccine, imported from Russia, will be carried out by Dr Reddy Laboratories starting next week

Doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine are all set to help expand India’s ammunition in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, joining the ranks of Astrazeneca’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin as the country faces a dearth of jabs.

The rollout of 1.5 lakh doses of the imported vaccine will be carried out by Dr Reddy Laboratories starting next week, with the government expecting another 25 crore doses in the next 8-10 months, with support from local manufacturing. Dr Reddy’s expects Indian manufacturing partners to begin local supply of the vaccine from July.

However, Russia hasn’t manufactured or administered such large quantities of doses in its own population so far. Also, it is difficult to make as its two shots have different compositions, raising doubts over how quickly production can be ramped up.

When will the vaccine be available?

The vaccine is likely to reach vaccination centres in “meaningful quantities” by mid-June, though Dr Reddy’s began with a “soft launch” of the vaccine this past week, with one patient getting a dose on Friday.

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How much will the vaccine cost?

The vaccine will initially cost Rs 995.40 per dose, though it is likely that the price will be lower once the vaccine is produced locally.

Where will Sputnik V be available?

The Sputnik V will be available in 35 cities, mostly tier-1 metros and select other cities, given that it needs to be stored at a temperature of -18°C, limiting it to hospitals that have the ability to refrigerate the doses at such low temperatures. Dr Reddy’s is also testing and seeking approval for a freeze-dried form of the vaccine, which can be stored at 2°C to 8°C.

Can you register for Sputnik via the CoWIN portal?

The vaccine will be listed on the CoWIN site and Aarogya Setu app once the wide-scale rollout is greenlit.

How effective is Sputnik V?

The developers of Sputnik V claim it has an efficacy of 91.6 per cent. Real-world data has also shown signs of high effectiveness against Covid-19.

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What is Sputnik Light and will it come to India?

Sputnik Light is the single-dose version of the Sputnik V vaccine and has a lower efficacy of 79.4 per cent. Dr Reddy’s is likely to have negotiations with Indian regulators in June to import Sputnik Light.

How many doses of the vaccine have been administered in Russia?

Less than 23 million doses of Sputnik V have been administered in the Russian population. And, as of May 12, Russia had produced only 33 million doses of Sputnik V and had exported fewer than 15 million, according to a Reuters tally that counted each vaccine as consisting of two doses.