New Delhi: The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the single-dose Sputnik Light in the country on Sunday making it the ninth anti-Covid shot added to the bouquet of Covid-19 vaccines in India.
Sharing the information on Twitter, union health minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said the emergency use approval of the single-dose vaccine will give a boost to India’s fight against Covid-19.
“This is the 9th Covid-19 vaccine in the country. This will further strengthen the nation’s collective fight against the pandemic,” he tweeted.
An expert panel of India’s central drug authority had this week recommended granting restricted emergency use authorisation (EUA) to single-dose COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik Light. Notably, on July 1 last year, India’s drug regulator had refused to grant EUA to the single-dose Russian jab.
Sputnik Light is based on recombinant human adenovirus serotype number 26 (the first component of Sputnik V). It has been authorised for public use in more than 30 countries so far.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the vaccine’s developer, said the one-shot vaccination regimen of Sputnik Light provides for ease of administration and helps to increase the efficacy and duration of other vaccines when used as a booster shot.
