NEW DELHI: The country’s apex drug regulator has granted emergency use permission to the single-dose Sputnik Light Covid vaccine in India, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Sunday.
In a tweet, he said the emergency use approval of the single-dose vaccine would boost India’s fight against Covid. “This is the 9th #COVID19 vaccine in the country. This will further strengthen the nation’s collective fight against the pandemic,” he tweeted.
The decision comes days after the subject expert panel on vaccines recommended to the drug regulator that emergency use authorisation (EUA) be granted to the single-dose Sputnik Light vaccine. Based on a human adenovirus vector platform, Sputnik Light was developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Center.
In October last year, the government had approved the export of Sputnik Light, which is manufactured in India by the Hetero Biopharma Limited. Sputnik Light is identical to component-1 of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine that has been used in India’s vaccination drive.
Health officials in Russia had authorised the one-shot Sputnik Light version for use in May last year. As per the vaccine developer Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), a one-shot vaccination regimen of Sputnik Light provides for ease of administration and helps to increase the efficacy and duration of other vaccines when used as a booster shot.
India has administered close to 12 lakh doses of Sputnik V to the country’s adult population.