Russia's Coronavirus Vaccine - Sputnik V, which was approved for Emergency Use in India in April is expected to be available in the market by next week. The first consignment of the vaccine reached India on May 1st and further consignments, around 36 million doses, are expected in the next couple of months.

The vaccine is being rolled out in India by Dr Reddy's Laboratories - the Indian partner of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which administered the first dose of the vaccine today in Hyderabad as part of its pilot run.

"Our total commitment contracted from RDIF is 250 million doses, of which the initial 15%-20% is expected through imports," Dr Reddy Executive, M V Ramana said, adding "The company expects to use the doses to vaccinate 125 million people in the next 8-12 months."

The imported doses have been priced at Rs. 948 per dose with an additional 5% GST to be levied on it, bringing the total price at around Rs. 995.4. However, the vaccine doses manufactured in India are likely to be cheaper.

After the initial doses which would be imported, manufacturing in India would begin. For this, the company is in talks with 6 partners to fulfill regulatory requirements and ensure smooth and timely supply. As per RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev, Russia expects to produce more than 850 million doses of the vaccine in India this year.

How does Sputnik V compare to Covaxin and Covishield?

Sputnik V, also known as Gam-Covid-Vac. is a Russian vaccine is a combination of two different adenoviruses (Ad26 and Ad5), which are the viruses that cause common cold. These adenoviruses are combined with SARS-CoV-2 for treatment, which prompts the body to make an immune response to it.

The approval and subsequent availability of Sputnik V in India adds to the country's two vaccines against Coronavirus - indigenously developed Covaxin and AstraZeneca's Covishield. However, in comparison Sputnik V has the highest yet efficacy rate of 91.6%.

Sputnik V is one of only three vaccines in the world with such a high efficacy rate, after Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The two-dose vaccine also has the most authorizations granted globally and has already been administered to more than 20 lakh people worldwide. However, lack of transparency in the Phase-3 trials data of the vaccine had earlier raised serious concerns.