Sputnik V could be India's 3rd COVID-19 vaccine: Experts

To cater to the vaccination process of the worlds largest democracy it would be pertinent to bring in safer and more effective vaccines from other countriesHowever on February 24 Indias drug authority had asked Dr Reddys the Indian pharmaceutical company facilitating the trials in the country to supply data on immunogenicity for going ahead with the approval process However experts across the country have been questioning the approval procedure given the fact that the country gave approval to two homegrown vaccines in January this year for emergency use based on modified standards For instance Covaxin was granted restricted approval in clinical trial mode without any efficacy dataThe fact is that Covid19 poses a significant threat to both health and economy globally and it is only by avoiding nationalistic policies and embracing global cooperation that countries across the world can beat the pandemic It should be a global effort for humanity For example India is already acknowledged as a key global production hub for having the largest vaccines manufacturing capacities in the world Similarly India should provide equitable access to its people to avail the best Covid19 vaccines as developed across the world said Dr AM Deshmukh President Microbiologist Society IndiaLast month the Lancet one of the most reputed journals in the world published the outcomes of the phase III of the clinical trials of Sputnik V The trial results show a consistent strong protective effect across all participant age groupsAlso known as GamCOVIDVac the vaccine uses a heterologous recombinant adenovirus approach using adenovirus 26 Ad26 and adenovirus 5 Ad5 as vectors for the expression of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 SARSCoV2 spike protein The use of two varying serotypes which are given 21 days apart is intended to overcome any preexisting adenovirus immunity in the population Among the major COVID vaccines in development to date only GamCOVIDVac uses this approachSputnik V has demonstrated an efficacy rate of 916 per cent in the interim analysis of the Phase 3 clinical trials which included data on 19866 volunteers in Russia who received both the first and second dose of the vaccineThe Phase 3 ongoing trial of Sputnik V may turn into a landmark in untiring journey of COVID Vaccination It could be possible after partnership between Dr Reddys Laboratories and Russian agencies Sputnik V is being commercialized globally by Russian Direct Investment Fund RDIF RDIF had in September signed a pact with Dr Reddys wherein the Indian drug maker would conduct the bridging study and distribute doses to 100 million people if it were granted a license This was later increased to 125 million says Dr Gajendra Singh Public Health ExpertThe recently approved COVID 19 vaccine in India AstraZeneca has reported 621 per cent efficacy as per phase III clinical trial results published by the company in the Lancet in December while Pfizer and Sputnik V approved in world reportedly has more than 90 per cent efficacy against the virus Sputnik V can be stored at between two and eight degrees Celsius between 356 and 464degrees Fahrenheit instead of the temperatures far below freezing required for some other vaccines As of now Sputnik V and Pfizer had proven their efficacy to be 9037 while OxfordAstraZeneca is standing on 62137 as per their own paper that was submitted to the Lancet magazine Interestingly Drugs Controller General of India DCGI mentions that AstraZeneca shows average 7037 effectiveness in preventing the COVID19 This is the averagemean efficacy between the regular group that were injected two full doses 62 per cent and half a dose and full dose 90 percent Important to note that India would go for a fulldose regimen So clearly there is a lack of transparency here and there should be an informed decision keeping all the aspects in mind added Dr Gajendra SinghMoreover vaccines such as Covishield and Sputnik V are fit for Indian terrain since they can be stored between 2 degrees and 8 degrees in contrast with the mRNA vaccines which require extreme temperature regimen of 70ordm20ordmC for storageInterestingly Sputnik V vaccine has already been approved by several countries across North and South America the Middle East Europe Asia and Africa the recent ones being Mexico and Egypt With this it is now approved for use in more than 35 countries making it one of the worlds top three coronavirus vaccines in terms of the number of approvals issued by the regulatory authoritiesIn the fight against a virus that brought the world to a standstill it would be important to collectively find a conducive solution to reach the end point India not only needs to continue the fight against the pandemic but also win it along with other countries of the world by adopting a pragmatic approach and think beyond nationalismThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability 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