First Lot of Sputnik V COVID Vaccines From Russia Arrives in India

The vaccines will be handed over to Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.

Shipment of Sputnik V arrives in Hyderabad on Saturday, 1 May.

(Photo: Nikolay Kudashev/Twitter)

The first consignment of the Russian-made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Hyderabad on Saturday, 1 May.

“As Russia and India continue dedicated joint efforts to combat COVID-19, this move is especially important to support the Indian Government’s endeavours to mitigate the deadly second wave and save lives,” reported ANI, quoting N Kudashev, Russian Ambassador to India.

According to diplomats based in Moscow and New Delhi, the flight carrying 1,50,000 doses of the preventive vaccine left Russia on 1 May morning and will be handed over to Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.

Before the doses are handed over for vaccination, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories will seek mandatory approval from the Central Drugs Laboratory.

Managing director of Dr Reddy’s Labs GV Prasad had announced on 21 April that Sputnik V is likely to be sold at USD 10 (around Rs 750) per dose in India.

The price is likely to fall once its production begins in India. However, once manufacturing begins, a part of the supply will be exported and some will be made available for the public market in India, for which the pricing model will be decided in the coming weeks.

When Will India Start Receiving the Vaccine?

India will start receiving the Sputnik V vaccine by end-May, a Dr Reddy's spokesman told Reuters on 21 April.

The spokesman added, “Sputnik V is going to be made in India in a few months. We expect the Indian-made vaccine to start being available from the second quarter of the current fiscal.”

After a long wait, on 12 April, Russia's Sputnik V became the third vaccine to be green-lit for emergency use in India. Sputnik V is also one of the only three clinically tested vaccines in the world (including Pfizer and Moderna) with an efficacy of 91.6 percent as per The Lancet’s findings.

The Sputnik V approval comes after the Centre finally eased the path for vaccines from pharmaceutical companies that are approved in the US, the UK and European countries, to seek approvals in India.