Delay in delivery of Sputnik V jab to be fully resolved in August

The Sputnik V team on Wednesday confirmed that the temporary delay in delivery due to production scale-up will be fully resolved in August.

"Sputnik V team confirms that owing to a major scale-up in vaccine production capacity temporary second component delivery delays that occurred due to this production scale-up will be fully resolved in August," a press release read.

Mentioning the doubling of the capacity of Sputnik V in September, the release stated, "Sputnik V has built production partnership with producers in 14 countries and will additionally double its capacity in September thanks to our partnership with top producers including Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine producer."

 

Further, the release added that a study by the Gamaleya Center published in Vaccines international medical journal showed that Sputnik V is one of the most efficient vaccines against coronavirus variants including Delta.

"Demand for Sputnik V worldwide remains very high due to its exceptional efficacy and safety as well as the absence of any serious side effects, which have been linked to the use of some other vaccines. In countries where Sputnik V is used as part of national vaccination campaigns, notably in Argentina and Mexico, a steady decline in COVID-19 cases is observed," it read.

Further, the release mentioned the role of Sputnik V in vaccine combinations (mix and match approach), and said, "Sputnik V, which pioneered the heterogeneous boosting ("vaccine cocktail") approach by using two different adenoviral vectors (Ad5 and Ad26) for two different shots, was first to offer a joint mix and match trial to another producer when it made an offer to AstraZeneca on November 23, 2020."

Joint Sputnik V and AstraZeneca trials have been ongoing in the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, and Argentina since February 2021. The early positive results were announced on July 30. More positive results on immunogenicity are expected this week.

"Sputnik V will accelerate work with other vaccine producers on the mix and match approach, which triggers a strong and longer-lasting immune response. The first component of Sputnik V (Sputnik Light) which demonstrated over 80% efficacy on its own, higher than many two-shot vaccines, will be offered to other vaccine producers as part of our mix and match strategy," the release mentioned.

Team Sputnik V also refuted media reports and said that not a single country has cancelled a contract for the delivery. "On the opposite, the demand for Sputnik V continues to significantly increase due to its exceptional safety and efficacy as demonstrated through," they said.