Sputnik V authorized in the Kingdom of Bahrain

Sputnik V authorized in the Kingdom of Bahrain

Moscow, February 10, 2021 – The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund) announces the approval of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus by the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The vaccine was approved under the emergency use authorization procedure without additional clinical trials in the country.

Bahrain has become the 24th country in the world to approve Sputnik V. The vaccine had been approved earlier in Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Republika Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan and Mongolia.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said:

“The positive decision by NHRA will pave the way for protecting the population with a safe and effective Sputnik V vaccine. Joining efforts is the key to overcoming the pandemic and we will help our partners by supplying one of the best vaccines against coronavirus in the world.”

Sputnik V has a number of key advantages:

·        Efficacy of Sputnik V is 91.6% as confirmed by the data published in the Lancet, one of the world's oldest and most respected medical journals; it is one of only three vaccines in the world with efficacy of over 90%; Sputnik V provides full protection against severe cases of COVID-19.

·        The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years.

·        Sputnik V uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.

·        The safety, efficacy and lack of negative long-term effects of adenoviral vaccines have been proven by more than 250 clinical studies over two decades.

·        The developers of the Sputnik V vaccine are working collaboratively with AstraZeneca on a joint clinical trial to improve the efficacy of AstraZeneca vaccine.

·        There are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.

·        The storage temperature of Sputnik V at +2+8 C means it can be stored in a conventional refrigerator without any need to invest in additional cold-chain infrastructure.

·        The price of Sputnik V is less than $10 per shot, making it affordable around the world.