Hindu Daily Digest - Editor’s Pick: Sputnik V to the rescue

(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)

Russia’s COVID vaccine — Sputnik V — has been recommended for emergency use authorisation in India following a meeting of the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on Monday. The recommendation comes amid the recent record surge of fresh COVID cases — the highest since the beginning of the pandemic last year.

Sputnik V would be the third vaccine to be made available in India after Serum Institute of India’s Covishield, developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca, and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. Developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, it claims to be one of the three vaccines in the world with efficacy of over 90%.

A study published in The Lancet Journal in February this year shows a consistent and strong protective effect across all age groups. Sputnik V uses a vector approach where a genetically engineered weakened adenovirus that causes common cold is used as a container to deliver small parts of the coronavirus pathogen and stimulate an immune response. The Lancet study notes that Sputnik V uses two varying serotypes, i.e. that the second dose of the vaccine is designed differently using a different adenovirus, in order to overcome any immunity that may have developed from the first dose. Others such as the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine, which also uses the adenovirus approach, use the same material for both doses.

While Dr. Reddy’s will market the vaccine in India, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has tied up with other Indian companies — Hetero Biopharma, Gland Pharma, Stelis Biopharma and Virchow Biotech — to produce 850 million doses of Sputnik V in the country every year.

The emergency authorisation for this new vaccine is welcome news at a time when fears are growing over the alarming spike in cases and a possible vaccine shortage in the country. On Monday, the markets reflected this unease with the BSE Sensex losing 1708 points or 3.44%,, taking the Rupee past the ₹75 mark against the dollar. Inflation surged further in March and industrial output collapsed sharply in February as per official data, showing that any economic recovery is still on shaky ground. The fight against the virus is paramount and that marks this story out as our top pick of the day.

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