UN continues to discuss Russia's offer of free COVID-19 vaccine for its staff worldwide

Responding to Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to provide free Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines to all the United Nations staff worldwide, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric on Tuesday, November 24 said they are still holding discussions and looking at the relevant data. In September, while addressing the UN General Assembly Putin had offered free Sputnik vaccines to all the United Nations staff worldwide.

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"We continue to be in discussions and looking at that," Dujarric told reporters when asked about the offer.  Dujarric earlier had said that the vaccine must be cleared by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Meanwhile, Russia became the first country in the world to register a coronavirus vaccine developed by Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology in August.

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Russian COVID-19 vaccine shows over 91.4% efficacy

Meanwhile, Sputnik V’s developers on Tuesday announced that initial testing showed it was 91.4% effective in preventing the coronavirus infections based on the interim analysis of the data gathered from a stage-3 clinical trial involving 40,000 people in Russia. 

"The efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine is 91.4%, based on the second interim analysis of data obtained 28 days after administering the first dose (7 days after the second dose)," the official statement said. The preliminary data from volunteers obtained 42 days after the first dose (corresponds with 21 days after the second dose) indicates the efficacy of the vaccine above 95% it added.

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Sputnik V's to cost less than $20

Furthermore, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has announced that Sputnik V will cost less than $10 for international markets starting from February 2021. However, being a two-dose vaccine, the total amount comes at less than $20 globally. The statement said that the vaccine will be two or more times cheaper than foreign vaccines based on mRNA technology with similar efficacy rates. Also, for Russian people, the vaccine will be free of charge. 

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(With ANI input)