Argentina Approves Russian Single-Dose Vaccine Sputnik Light

The Ministry of Health of Argentina approved the Russian single-dose vaccine Sputnik Light as a standalone and booster vaccine against coronavirus, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced from Moscow.

According to a statement from the RDIF, the Russian preparation was approved as a "standalone vaccine and booster dose" against the coronavirus.

RELATED:

The Lancet: Russian Vaccine Sputnik Light Boasts High Efficacy

The Russian fund recalled that Argentina was last year one of the first countries to register the Russian vaccine Sputnik V, which today has received the approval of more than 70 nations.

From Argentina, the Ministry of Health reported that the Sputnik Light coronavirus vaccine, the first component of Sputnik V applied as a single dose and developed by the Russian Gamaleya Research Center, was authorized for emergency use.

The decision was published in the Official Gazette (BO), under Resolution No. 3451 of the Ministry of Health. The Russian vaccine Sputnik Light may also be effective against the Omicron variant, which is already in Argentina and has the whole world worried.

"We appreciate #Argentina's decision to authorize the use of Russian #SputnikLight single-dose vaccine as a standalone, booster vaccine. Our nations continue to strengthen bilateral cooperation in order to combat #COVID19 pandemic. #RussiaArgentina"

The resolution was taken based on recommendations of the National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology (Anmat), which evaluated that the vaccine is "a safe and effective therapeutic tool of access for our country to lower mortality, reduce morbidity and decrease the transmissibility of COVID-19."

Thus, the first component of the Sputnik V vaccine - which is based on human adenovirus serotype 26 - can be used as a single-dose vaccine in the context of the Argentine government's emergency authorization.

"The Gamaleya Center's findings based on data from 28,000 individuals in Moscow have shown that the Sputnik Light vaccine administered independently has 70% efficacy against infection with the Delta variant of the coronavirus during the first three months after vaccination." 

"The vaccine has an efficacy of 75% in subjects under 60 years of age," the Sputnik developers similarly recalled in a press release.