COVID-19 | Sputnik V vaccine trial for public launched at Gurugram's Fortis Memorial Research Institute

The reports of public trial of Sputnik V, being launched at Fortis Memorial facility in Gurugram, came shortly after several hospitals in Delhi-NCR claimed that the vaccine's rollout has been further delayed.

Moneycontrol News

June 28, 2021 / 07:20 AM IST

File image (Source: Reuters)

Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurugram has launched a trial run of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for the public, news agency ANI reported on June 27.

The made-in-Russia jab was the third vaccine to be granted regulatory clearance in India, in April this year. The vaccine's soft-launched was initiated in May by pharmaceutical firm Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

The two doses of Sputnik V are required to be administered at an interval of 21 days. Both the doses are different and not interchangeable.

The reports of public trial of Sputnik V, being launched at Fortis Memorial facility in Gurugram, came shortly after several hospitals in Delhi-NCR claimed that the vaccine's rollout has been further delayed.

"We do not have clarity on the dates of the vaccine roll-out," news agency PTI quoted a spokesman of Apollo Hospitals as saying. An official of Madhukar Rainbow Children's Hospital also said that the facility has also not received Sputnik V doses so far from Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories, the marketing partner for the vaccine in the country.

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.

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