Dr Reddy's Labs (DRL) on June 13 said the limited pilot soft launch of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine has now been scaled up to cities such as Visakhapatnam, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi, reported CNBC-TV18. The limited pilot soft launch of the vaccine was first initiated in Hyderabad on May 14.
DRL said the initiative would help test cold storage and other logistical arrangements before the vaccine's commercial launch. Since it's a part of the pilot phase, people cannot register themselves and have to wait for the commercial launch.
Earlier on June 9, Rockwell Industries, a cold chain appliance manufacturer announced its strategic partnership with DRL, to provide its World Health Organisation - Performance, Quality and Safety certified Covid-19 vaccine freezers to enable storage of Sputnik V vaccine in India.
Rockwell Industries ties up with DRL for freezers to store Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine
Rockwell had said that the vaccine freezer plays a very critical role in the safety of vaccines and its potency as Russia's Sputnik V vaccine requires a temperature range of minus 18 degrees celsius, to keep it stable and potent.
"Our technology ensures that Sputnik V's storage management at vaccine centres meets the stringent refrigeration standards set forth by Sputnik V manufacturers," Managing Director of Rockwell Industries Ashok Gupta said.
Apart from this, Rockwell added that it will provide end-to-end logistics and after sales service support for the vaccine freezers across India. Hospitals like AIG Hospitals, Apollo, Omega and Care Hospitals are already using Rockwells Vaccine Freezers for vaccine storage.
On June 13, news agency ANI reported that Russia's Sputnik V is likely to be available at Delhi's Indraprastha Apollo Hospital from next week.
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