Russia Says Its Sputnik V Coronavirus Vaccine 95% Effective

Reacting on the pricing of two coronavirus vaccine candidates Pfizer and Moderna that has recently shown encouraging results from their human trials, Russia's Sputnik V has said that its prices would be "much lower".

Moscow's Gamaleya Research Institute, which serves under the Russian health ministry, said in a release that global markets will be able to purchase the serum for $10 per dose, with patients requiring two.

Russia's two-shot Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine will cost less than $20 per person on worldwide markets and will be free of charge for Russian citizens, according to a statement on the official Sputnik V Twitter account.

The second interim analysis of the Sputnik V vaccine efficacy was carried out on the basis of 39 confirmed cases identified in the placebo group (31 cases) and in the vaccine group (8 cases).

Presently, the third and final phase trials of the potential Covid-19 vaccine is undergoing in 29 medical centres across the world in which 42,000 volunteers have participated.

"The data demonstrating [the] high efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine give us hope that we will soon obtain the most important tool in the fight against the pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection", noted Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko.

Pfizer's vaccine costs about $20 a dose, while Moderna's is $15-25, based on agreements the companies have struck to supply their vaccines to the United States government.

Forty-two days later, after a second dose, data showed "an efficacy of the vaccine above 95 percent".

RDIF has said as of November 11, no serious side effects had been reported during the Sputnik V phase three trial. The Sputnik V uses the same viral vector technique, allowing it to be stored in similar conditions, the Russian institute said. The latter shows how protective a vaccine is when it is actually administered in the general population and efficacy-the number cited by pharmaceutical companies announcing trial results-only shows what fraction of those who got the vaccine tested positive versus compared to those who tested positive among those who got a placebo during the clinical trial phase. The vaccine supplies for the global market will be produced by RDIF's worldwide partners in India, Brazil, China, South Korea and other countries.