Summary:
New Delhi: Russian-made Covid vaccine Sputnik V, the third vaccine to be approved by India, will be manufactured by five pharma firms in the country and 850 million doses are going to be produced annually.
However, limited doses are going to be available by the end of April.
India`s drug regulator, the Drugs Controller General of India or DCGI, approved the Russian vaccine after it got a green signal by a special committee - the Subject Expert Committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization - on Monday as a lethal second wave sweeps the country.
The approval comes as several states flagged a shortage in vaccine.
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New Delhi: Russian-made Covid vaccine Sputnik V, the third vaccine to be approved by India, will be manufactured by five pharma firms in the country and 850 million doses are going to be produced annually.
However, limited doses are going to be available by the end of April.
India`s drug regulator, the Drugs Controller General of India or DCGI, approved the Russian vaccine after it got a green signal by a special committee - the Subject Expert Committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization - on Monday as a lethal second wave sweeps the country.
The approval comes as several states flagged a shortage in vaccine.
Manufactured in India by Dr Reddy`s, Sputnik V has the highest effectiveness - 91.6 per cent -- after the Moderna and Pfizer shots.
The vaccine is already in Phase 3 of clinical trials in India and Dr Reddy`s had applied for emergency use approval of the vaccine in February.
In a statement, the Russia`s sovereign wealth fund - the RDIF (Russian Direct Investment Fund) - said India is the most populated country where the Russian vaccine has got approval.