New Delhi: The Subject Expert Committee of India has been recommended Russia’s Covid – 19 vaccines Sputnik V for use in India as the country battles a record spike in Covid – 19 cases in the country. If DCGI approved this vaccine, it will be the third vaccine to be used in India after Serum Institute of India’s Covishield developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

Dr Reddy’s lab manufacturing the Sputnik V vaccine in India has the highest effectiveness 91.6 % after the Moderna and Pfizer shots. Dr Reddy’s had applied on February 19 for emergency use of the vaccine, which is in Phase 3 of clinical trials in India.

The vaccine has to be greenlit by the DCGI before it can be widely used to inoculate citizens. Sputnik V is on track for clearance amid complaints of vaccine shortage from many states, especially Maharashtra, the epicenter of the second surge. In its last meeting on April 1, the experts’ committee had asked Dr Reddy’s to submit data on how the shot activates the body’s immune response against the Covid- 19.

The vaccine is also in trials in the UAE, Venezuela and Belarus. The two-dose vaccine, developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, costs less than $10 for each shot in international markets. The dry form of the vaccine can be stored at 2 to 8 degrees.