Question

Is Sputnik-V available in India ? If not when it will available ?​

Answer 1

The Russian Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, which was launched in India as a pilot on May 14, is yet to be commercially available in the country, owing to delays in the im­port of consignments. The roll-out, which was expected in mid-June, has now been pushed back by at least two weeks, according to sources.

Around 3 million units of the first dose of the vaccine have landed in India, while the consignment of the second dose is expected by the end of this month.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), the distribution partner of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets the vaccine internationally, admitted that there was a ‘slight postponement in the commercial launch due to dependency on imported consignments’.

A company spokesperson added that the pilot phase initiated on May 14 in Hyderabad has so far been extended to Visakhapatnam, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kol­kata, Delhi, Chennai, Miryalaguda, Vijay­awada, Baddi, Kolhapur, Raipur, and Chan­digarh. “By the end of the final leg of the pilot phase, we aim to reach 28 cities. Our cold storage and other logistical arra­ngements are being executed in line with our commercialisation plan and are on track. We will continue to share updates related to Sputnik V,” the DRL spokesperson said.

DRL is the sole distributor of the first 250 million doses of Sputnik V in India. The initial 50 million doses are expected to be imported from Russia to ensure a faster rollout before Indian pharma companies begin producing the vaccine.