Sputnik V authorized in Gabon

Sputnik V authorized in Gabon

Moscow, February 17, 2021 – The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund) announces the registration of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus by the Ministry of Health of the Gabonese Republic.

The vaccine was approved under the emergency use authorization procedure. Gabon has become the 29^th country in the world and 4^th state of Africa to register Sputnik V.

Sputnik V is one of the world's top three coronavirus vaccines in terms of the number of approvals issued by government regulators.

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, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

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

“Sputnik V is in high demand globally and more African nations are willing to purchase it as the Russian vaccine is one of the best in the world. Sputnik V will be an important part of the national vaccine portfolio of Gabon thanks to efficacy of over 90%, safety, proven platform, easy distribution and a number of other advantages.”

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.