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15,000 Sputnik V pilot doses here Thursday

26 Apr 2021

  • Remaining doses to be sent based after feedback on pilot stock

  A pilot stock of 15,000 doses of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Russia is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on Thursday, 29 April.  The State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) is expected to send the feedback on the vaccine such as on the availability of cold chains and storage facilities, after which the rest of the stocks will be delivered according to the agreed upon delivery plan, said SPC General Manager Dinusha Dassanayake, speaking to The Morning yesterday (25). “We will get 15,000 doses of the vaccine as a pilot stock on the 29th and we will have to send them feedback on our cold chain facilities, and we will receive the rest of the stocks after that.”  The Sputnik V vaccine can be stored in cold storage facilities at 2-8 degrees Celsius, which is the temperature of the cold chain facilities being used for the storage of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine.  Releasing a statement yesterday, the Sri Lanka President’s Media Division said that 200,000 doses of the Russian-made Sputnik Covid-19 vaccine will be available by the end of April, while 400,000 doses will be made available in May, 800,000 doses in June, and 1,200,000 doses in July will be delivered to the country. Cabinet approval has already been granted to import 13 million doses of the Sputnik vaccine at a price of $ 9.95 per dose.  We learnt earlier this month that the Gamaleya Research Institute has provided its delivery schedule to the SPC to deliver 13 million Sputnik V doses over a period of nine months.  The Sputnik V vaccine is administered through the injection of two different adenovirus vectors (rAd26 and rAd5), delivered separately, in a first and second dose, with a gap of 21 days between the two doses. Late stage trial results published in The Lancet journal show that the vaccine has an efficacy rate of 91.6% against the Covid-19 virus.  The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) granted emergency use registration for the Sputnik V vaccine on 4 March. Though the vaccine received emergency use registration in several countries, Sputnik V is yet to receive World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Use Listing (EUL).  


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