Pilot launch for Russian vaccine against Covid19 has been extended in nine cities across India. The vaccine roll-out is slated to include other Indian cities as well. Hyderabad, Vishakapatnam, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Miyalguda, Kolhapur, and Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) are the nine cities selected for the pilot run. The pilot run in Hyderabad has been declared successful. The pilot run will test cold storage at minus 18 degrees Celsius and other related logistics. The vaccine will be rolled out in Gurugram for the first time at the Fortis Memorial Research Institute from June 19 onwards. In Haryana, Gurugram will be the first district to initiate inoculation of Sputnik V on a pilot basis.

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In an announcement on Wednesday, Dr Reddy’s lab said, “The limited pilot launch of the Sputnik V was started in Hyderabad on May 14 and is being extended to nine cities.” “The vaccine is currently in its final leg as we gear up to ensure a smooth commercial launch”, DRL had said in a statement. Gurugrams’ Fortis Institute will procure the vaccine doses from Dr. Reddy’s lab, and the hospital staff would likely be inoculated first by the vaccine.

In India’s fight against Covid19, the Russian vaccine will go beyond pilot launch as a booster dose suited against the delta variant. Therefore, Sputnik V will be made available in several other Indian cities, including Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi, in addition to cities with its pilot run.

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Sputnik V will offer booster shot specifically against the Delta variant to other vaccine manufacturers. The makers of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine said that the booster shot will be “adjusted to work against the Delta variant of coronavirus, first detected in India.”

In this regard, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said that the Sputnik V will soon be offering a booster shot. Russian scientists who developed Sputnik V have long advocated for vaccination combinations to improve efficacy.

Sputnik V vaccine, which has been developed in Russia, has been found to be more effective against the Delta variant of the Coronavirus. The delta variant, which found in India, is a highly transmissible variant of the Covid19-causing virus. It is important to note that the US CDC has classified the Delta variant, as a ‘variant of concern’.

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Sputnik V has been found to be more effective on the Delta variant than any other vaccine, as posted by Sputnik V’s official handle on Twitter.

Sputnik V was developed in Russia by Gamaleya Institute. The vaccine has reportedly showed over 91.6% efficacy against coronavirus, and it has been0 authorised in 67 countries across the world. On June 10, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced that the efficacy of the Sputnik V was estimated at 94.3% during a vaccination campaign by Bahrain’s Ministry of Health. World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet approved Sputnik V as an emergency vaccine. Argentina has claimed that Sputnik V has helped in saving millions of lives from the threat of Covid19. Hungary and Slovakia were the latest countries which authorised the emergency-use of Sputnik V vaccine.

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Other studies on efficacy of doses and third wave

A study by PGI Chandigarh claimed that the first dose of Covid-19 in India can be up to 75% effective. Another study said that the protection from Covishield’s first dose is 61% while both (first and second) doses are 65% effective. A sero-prevalence study was conducted among children of 2-17 years age from March 15 to June 10 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The study showed that a third possible wave in India by the prevailing Covid-19 virus variant is unlikely to disproportionately affect children than adults.