With the novel coronavirus and other natural calamities, 2021 is turning out to be the worst year ever. When the virus put a halt to our activities last year, I remember being one of the many who were absolutely sure that the virus would magically disappear in a month or so. Couldn’t be more wrong, could we? Even after battling two severe waves and all new strains, our fight with the virus seems far from over.
Amid the ongoing pandemic, the only relief is the vaccine. However, we all know what a big task it is to get a slot on the official website. I’ve been trying to get a slot for my parents for a week now. The reason being? Major shortage in vaccines.
This is why it only made sense for the government to give its approval for another vaccine. The government recently announced its plans of introducing Sputnik V vaccine in the Indian market.
Since it’s a new vaccine, it’s only natural for one to have questions about it. So to make it simple for you, we spoke to an expert and here’s everything that you’d want to know about the Sputnik V vaccine.
About Sputnik V Vaccine
Sputnik V that was developed by the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Russia was the first COVID-19 vaccine to be authorized. “Sputnik V is an adenovirus-viral vector vaccine. It uses a modified version of the virus that cannot replicate and this has been inserted with the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This is expected to bring about an immune response in the body,” explains Dr Vinita Nair, General Physician, YCMH Hospital.
How Many Doses Does It Have?
Like Covishield and Covaxin, Sputnik V is a two-dose vaccine. “It is a 2 vector vaccine. So this means that the vaccine uses two different kinds of adenovirus vectors rAd26 for the first dose, and rAd5 for the second dose. This method is proven to be more efficient,” says Dr Vinita.
Is It Effective?
We’re all wondering about the effectiveness of the new vaccine. Turns out, the Sputnik vaccine is pretty effective. “ A research study was conducted in Russia which proved that it is effective against most of the Indian mutations of the virus. In phase 3 trials, the efficiency was found to be about 91.6 percent,” Dr Vinita makes it clear to us.
How Much Will Sputnik V Cost?
The vaccine has been priced at Rs 948 per dose. However, including five percent GST, the price of this vaccine goes up to Rs 995.40 per dose.
For now, the vaccine is available in Hyderabad and Bangalore, but it should be available by this week at all Apollo hospitals. Keeping my fingers crossed that I manage to get a slot for this one ASAP!
Featured Image: Unsplash
