<p>The backers of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V said Monday that the jab is effective against the new Omicron coronavirus variant but they were also developing an adapted booster.</p>.<p>The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which supported the vaccine's development by the state-run Gamaleya Center, said that the centre "has already begun developing the new version of Sputnik vaccine adapted to Omicron."</p>.<p>"In an unlikely case such modification is needed, the new Sputnik Omicron version can be ready for mass-scale production in 45 days," RDIF said in a statement.</p>.<p>"Several hundred million Sputnik Omicron boosters can be provided to international markets already by February 20, 2022 with over 3 billion doses available in 2022."</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/covid-19-vaccine-makers-start-work-on-omicron-tailored-shots-1055900.html" target="_blank">Covid-19 vaccine makers start work on Omicron-tailored shots</a></strong></p>.<p>The promise comes after the US pharmaceutical company Moderna said Friday that it will develop a booster shot against the highly mutated strain of the coronavirus, which is more transmissible than the dominant Delta variant.</p>.<p>Germany's BioNTech and US drugmaker Pfizer said the same day that they expect data "in two weeks at the latest" to show if their jab can be adjusted.</p>.<p>Last week RDIF said Sputnik V provides longer immunity against the coronavirus than Western jabs using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.</p>.<p>It added that the Sputnik vaccine is 80 per cent effective against the coronavirus between six and eight months after the second dose.</p>.<p>No independent study has confirmed the claim.</p>.<p>Russia registered Sputnik V last August ahead of large-scale clinical trials, prompting concern among experts over the fast-tracked process.</p>.<p>But it was since declared safe and over 90 per cent effective in a report published by leading medical journal The Lancet.</p>.<p>The RDIF says its two-dose vaccine has been approved in 71 countries and that it has applied for registration in the European Union.</p>.<p>Earlier this summer several Latin American countries that have relied on the Russian vaccine to protect their populations complained to Moscow about delivery delays.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>
<p>The backers of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V said Monday that the jab is effective against the new Omicron coronavirus variant but they were also developing an adapted booster.</p>.<p>The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which supported the vaccine's development by the state-run Gamaleya Center, said that the centre "has already begun developing the new version of Sputnik vaccine adapted to Omicron."</p>.<p>"In an unlikely case such modification is needed, the new Sputnik Omicron version can be ready for mass-scale production in 45 days," RDIF said in a statement.</p>.<p>"Several hundred million Sputnik Omicron boosters can be provided to international markets already by February 20, 2022 with over 3 billion doses available in 2022."</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/covid-19-vaccine-makers-start-work-on-omicron-tailored-shots-1055900.html" target="_blank">Covid-19 vaccine makers start work on Omicron-tailored shots</a></strong></p>.<p>The promise comes after the US pharmaceutical company Moderna said Friday that it will develop a booster shot against the highly mutated strain of the coronavirus, which is more transmissible than the dominant Delta variant.</p>.<p>Germany's BioNTech and US drugmaker Pfizer said the same day that they expect data "in two weeks at the latest" to show if their jab can be adjusted.</p>.<p>Last week RDIF said Sputnik V provides longer immunity against the coronavirus than Western jabs using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.</p>.<p>It added that the Sputnik vaccine is 80 per cent effective against the coronavirus between six and eight months after the second dose.</p>.<p>No independent study has confirmed the claim.</p>.<p>Russia registered Sputnik V last August ahead of large-scale clinical trials, prompting concern among experts over the fast-tracked process.</p>.<p>But it was since declared safe and over 90 per cent effective in a report published by leading medical journal The Lancet.</p>.<p>The RDIF says its two-dose vaccine has been approved in 71 countries and that it has applied for registration in the European Union.</p>.<p>Earlier this summer several Latin American countries that have relied on the Russian vaccine to protect their populations complained to Moscow about delivery delays.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>