When will Russia's 'first Covid vaccine' be available in India? Here's what we know

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday announced that Moscow has developed the world's first vaccine against COVID-19 that works "quite effectively" and forms a "stable immunity" against the deadly disease. He stated that one of his daughters has already been vaccinated.

'It works quite effectively'

"A vaccine against Coronavirus has been registered for the first time in the world this morning," Putin said during a meeting with members of his government. "I know that it works quite effectively, it forms a stable immunity," the official Tass news agency quoted Putin as saying.

"I know this very well because one of my daughters got vaccinated, so in this sense, she took part in testing," Putin said. He did not specify which of his two daughters had received the vaccine. The vaccine has been named Sputnik-V. The name is a reference to the surprise 1957 launch of the world's first satellite by the Soviet Union.

The treatment is yet to go through crucial Phase 3 trials where it would be administered to thousands of people. President Putin noted that after the first vaccine shot, his daughter had a 38C fever, and on the next day, a fever slightly higher than 37C. "And then, after the second shot, she had a slight fever again, and then everything was fine, she is feeling well and has a high [antibody] count," Putin said.

When will the Russian vaccine hit the market?

However, the vaccine is still some distance away from becoming generally accessible, especially to people outside Russia According to an AP report, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova has promised to start “industrial production” of the Gam-COVID-Vac Lyo vaccine in September. However, the website of the State Register of Pharmaceuticals showed the vaccine would appear in circulation starting on January 1, 2021. “Date of introduction to the civilian circulation – 01.01.2021,” the site noted.

Russia’s health minister has said members of “risk groups” such as medical workers might be offered the vaccine this month and a mass vaccination programme would be launched in October. He said doctors and teachers would be among the first groups to be vaccinated. Russia has not yet declared the price of the vaccine.

'Premiliniary applications for over 1 billion doses'

According to reports, Kirill Dmitriyev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund which finances the vaccine project, said Phase 3 trials would start on Wednesday and industrial production was expected from September.

"We've seen considerable interest in the Russian vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Institute from abroad," he said, adding that "preliminary applications for over one billion doses" of the vaccine had been received from 20 countries. He said that along with foreign partners Russia was ready to manufacture 500 million doses of vaccine per year in five countries. It had been reported that the Gamaleya centre has developed two forms of the vaccine - a liquid and a freeze-dried one.

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“Our foreign partners express great interest in producing this vaccine in their countries. There is great interest from Brazil, from India, from many other countries that are very much looking forward to the Russian vaccine. More than five countries are now actively working with us to start producing the vaccine,” Dmitriev told TASS. According to Johns Hopkins University, the Coronavirus has infected more than 20 million people and killed over 737,000 people worldwide.

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When will Russia's vaccine be available in India?

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria responded on the development. Speaking to media, Guleria said that India needs to see critically 'if the vaccine is safe'. There is a need to assess the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, he said adding that if indeed Russia is successful in its attempt. He elaborated that focus needs to be on good immunity and it should be checked that there are no side effects of the vaccine. The AIIMS director also ensued confidence that India has the capacity for mass production of the vaccine.

“If Russia’s vaccine is successful, then we will have to see critically whether it is safe and effective. There should not be any side effects of the vaccine and it should provide good immunity and protection. India has the capacity for mass production of vaccine,” Dr Guleria said.

India is likely to play a huge role in vaccinating the world against Coronavirus as it is a massive global producer of pharmaceuticals. As per the Union Health Ministry, three vaccines are being developed in India under license agreements with at least 2 foreign players. The first is the Oxford-Serum Institute (Phase 3 underway) vaccine, the second is Zydus Cadila's and the third is Bharat Biotech's in concert with ICMR. At the moment, it is not immediately known whether the Russian vaccine will also be manufactured in India.

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(With agency inputs)