COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Russia in Dialogue With India For Localised Production of 'Sputnik V'
The vaccine was unveiled by Russia on August 11, with President Vladimir Putin claiming that one of his two daughters was the first recipient. A number of the countries in the third world subsequently reached out to Russia to ink deals for its import.
Moscow, September 4: Russia, which claimed to have developed the "world's first COVID-19 vaccine", is in talks with India for localised production of its potential silver bullet against coronavirus. A top Russian official on Friday confirmed that India is expected to be roped in as a partner for production of "Sputnik V", whose efficacy is yet to be completely established.
"We do recognise India's potential to become a support for the production of the vaccine not only in Indian markets but for other countries too and we have achieved certain agreements with the leading companies," said Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund. COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Prevents Severe Clinical Infection in Hamsters, Says Study.
"Around 60 percent of all vaccines in the world are being produced in India. We are having close dialogue with corresponding ministries & Indian govt and its leading manufactures regarding localisation of production of Sputnik V vaccine," Dmitriev added.
The vaccine was unveiled by Russia on August 11, with President Vladimir Putin claiming that one of his two daughters was the first recipient. A number of the countries in the third world subsequently reached out to Russia to ink deals for its import.
India, which is a member of Covax and has also signed up with Oxford University-Astrazeneca for the localised production of its vaccine candidate, is also expected to produce the Sputnik V vaccine locally.
Even as a number of countries are receiving the launch of Sputnik V with optimism, a number of Western democracies have decried the efficacy of the Russian produced vaccine. The UK, the US, Germany and France have questioned the lack of transparency by Moscow in releasing the pre-clinical tests and early human trial results.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 04, 2020 07:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).