Russia says Sputnik-V vaccine effective against Omicron variant of coronavirus

As Omicron cases rise across the world with infections now reported on six continents, Russia’s Sputnik-V said that its vaccine is effective against the new mutation. Developed by Gamaleya Research Institute, part of Russia’s Ministry of Health, Sputnik V demonstrated high virus neutralising activity (VNA) against the Omicron.According to the data released by the government, the vaccine performed three to seven times better than other candidates, including those developed using mRNA technology. The Sputnik Light, meanwhile, showed an efficacy of 80 per cent.”Sputnik V is showing the best virus neutralization results against Omicron in comparison with other vaccines,” Gamaleya Center said in a release, adding that it elicits strong and long-lasting T-cell response, and as 80% of epitopes in the spike protein are not affected by the mutations in the Omicron variant, Sputnik V is expected to provide long-lasting protection against severe disease by Omicron.It further added that the Sputnik Light as a booster significantly increases virus neutralizing activity against Omicron. Virus neutralizing activity against Omicron 2-3 months after a Sputnik Light booster in this preliminary laboratory study is higher.”100% of individuals revaccinated with Sputnik Light as a booster developed neutralizing antibodies against Omicron and demonstrated their high level 2-3 months after the revaccination in contrast with only 25% of Pfizer booster recipients showing the detectable level of neutralising antibodies,” the Institute said in a statement.Sputnik V used the SARS-CoV-2’s genetic instructions to build the spike protein and stores the information in the double-stranded DNA. The vaccine has been developed from adenoviruses, a kind of virus that causes colds. Meanwhile, Sputnik Light also works on a similar design and uses recombinant human adenovirus to carry the code for spike proteins. The vaccine uses a similar design as the J&J which uses human adenovirus serotype number 26.Sputnik V is to be administered in two dosages at a gap of 21 days according to initial reports. Gamaleya had announced that the two doses of Sputnik V have an efficacy rate of 91 per cent, while the single dose has 79.4 per cent efficacy.