The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Friday said that the gap between two doses of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine could be extended upto 180 days and it will remain effective. RDIF’s remarks came as some countries such as Kazakhstan and Argentina have decided to increase the gap between the two doses of the vaccine.
Sputnik V, a vaccine against the coronavirus disease developed in Russia, is marketed abroad by RDIF. The comments on widening the gap between two doses were made by an official at RDIF in a statement, news agency Reuters reported, without naming the official. However, HT has not individually verified the statement. While Kazakhstan has increased the duration between two doses of the vaccine citing stronger immune response, Argentina has done so to ensure that the maximum number of people possible are covered by at least one dose of the vaccine, the Reuters report showed.
Also read | India’s Morepen Labs begin manufacturing test batches of Sputnik V
Data from trials conducted by the Gamaleya Research Institute, the developer of the Sputnik V vaccine, showed that longer gaps between two doses provided a better immune response, the RDIF official said, without providing any further details about the trials. He also denied any connection between widening the duration between two doses and the supply of the vaccine by Russia, Reuters reported.
{{/usCountry}}Data from trials conducted by the Gamaleya Research Institute, the developer of the Sputnik V vaccine, showed that longer gaps between two doses provided a better immune response, the RDIF official said, without providing any further details about the trials. He also denied any connection between widening the duration between two doses and the supply of the vaccine by Russia, Reuters reported.
{{/usCountry}}He further said that all foreign partners and vaccine buyers have been notified by the RDIF that a gap of 90 days between the two doses would help to slightly increase the immune response.
A gap of 21 days between two doses of 0.5ml each was prescribed by India’s Union health ministry in April 2021, when Sputnik V was granted a permission for restricted use in emergency situations by the country’s regulators. Also, in April, director of the Gamaleya Institute Alexander Gintsburg said that the gap between two shots of the vaccine could be increased to 90 days.
Indian pharmaceutical company Morepen Laboratories earlier on Tuesday (July 6) said that it has started manufacturing test batches of the Sputnik V vaccine in India.
(With inputs from Reuters)