Covid-19: Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is 95 per cent effective, cheaper than others, say developers

Moscow [Russia], November 24 : The developers of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine announced on Tuesday that it had an efficacy rate or 95 per cent based on the second interim analysis of clinical data.
The two-dose vaccine will cost about $20 in international markets and will be available for free for Russian citizens. The cost of one dose of the Sputnik V will be available in international markets for less than USD 10 and would not require extreme cold storage for distribution.
The second interim analysis of clinical trial data showed a 91.4 per cent efficacy for the vaccine 28 days after the first dose, vaccine efficacy is over 95 per cent, 42 days after the first dose, Russia's health ministry, the state-run Gamaleya research centre and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement.
"Gamaleya Center has developed one of the most efficient vaccines against coronavirus in the world with an efficacy rate of more than 90 per cent and a price that is two times lower than that of other vaccines with similar efficacy rate," Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) that has invested in production and promotion of the vaccine said in a statement.
"The uniqueness of the Russian vaccine lies in the use of two different human adenoviral vectors which allows for a stronger and longer-term immune response as compared to the vaccines using one and the same vector for two doses," Dmitriev said.
22,000 volunteers had been vaccinated with the first dose and more than 19,000 with both doses. A total of 40,000 volunteers are participating in phase III double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical post-registration study
Currently, phase three trials are approved and ongoing in the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Belarus and other countries including Phase II-III in India.
As of November 24, no unexpected adverse events were identified as part of the research, the statement said.
On November 18 Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their virus vaccine is 95 per cent effective, while US company Moderna on November 17 said last week that early results showed its candidate was 94.5 per cent effective.
Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Health of the Russian Federation said, "The data demonstrating high efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine gives us hope that we will soon obtain the most important tool in the fight against the pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection."
Russia became the first country to register the world's first Covid-19 vaccine on August 11.
Sputnik V, named after Russia's first satellite, is developed by the Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Healthcare Ministry.