Vaccine Procurement & Supply
Alfacare Group Limited in conjunction with Aurugulf Health Investment can procure the latest iteration of the “Sputnik” vaccine known as “Sputnik Light”. Russia recently rolled out the single-dose Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine — also known as Gam-COVD-Vac — for wide circulation.
What is Sputnik Light
Sputnik Light is a single dose COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. It can be stored at a normal refrigerator temperature of 2–8 °C (36–46 °F). The institute says this version would be ideally suited for areas with acute outbreaks, allowing more people to be vaccinated quickly. It will also be used as a third (booster) dose for those who received Sputnik V at least 6 months earlier.
Effectiveness
A real-world study with participants aged 60-79 years in Argentina found that the single-injection vaccine is 79% effective in preventing infections. A phase III clinical trial in Russia also found an efficacy of 79%. According to Nextstrain, lineage B.1.1.317 was the dominant variant in Russia during the study period (5 December 2020 to 15 April 2021), while in Argentina (29 December 2020 to 21 March 2021) lineage N.5 dominated at first, but soon many lineages coexisted in similar proportions.
Composition
Composition, manufacturing sites and procedures, logistics and concerns about adverse effects and quality control are the same as the first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine. As a result, issues related to the second dose, such as the possible presence of replication-competent particles, do not apply to Sputnik Light.
