COVID-19 Vaccine: Second batch of Sputnik V to arrive in India on May 14

The first batch had arrived in Hyderabad on May 1, with 1.5 lakh doses.

Moneycontrol News

May 13, 2021 / 17:39 IST

Representative image of the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine being imported by Dr. Reddy's Laboratory for distribution in India

Amidst the vaccine shortage that many states are currently facing, the second batch of Russia's vaccine, Sputnik V will arrive in India on May 14. The first batch had arrived in Hyderabad on May 1, with 1.5 lakh doses.

Dr VK Paul, Member of Health, NITI Aayog, while addressing a press conference on May 13 also remarked that by next week he is hopeful that the vaccine will hit the markets.

"Sputnik vaccine has arrived in India. I'm happy to say that we're hopeful that it'll be available in the market next week. We're hopeful that the sale of the limited supply that has come from there (Russia), will begin next week", he said, as quoted by ANI.

Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) approved the emergency use authorization of Sputnik on April 13 and permitted Dr. Reddy's Laboratories to import the vaccine. Along with importing the vaccine, India will also produce the vaccine. Russian Direct Investment Fund (RIDF) has signed pacts with five Indian companies to produce 850 million doses of the vaccine.

RIDF had also forged a partnership with Dr. Reddy's to conduct clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine and the rights for distribution in India.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show