Vietnam receives 740,000 Sputnik V vaccine doses

Vietnamese pharmaceutical company Vabiotech accepted the vaccines. Vabiotech, also known as Vaccine and Biological Production No. 1, is adopting technology transfer in partnership with the Russian Direct Investment Fund to produce Sputnik V in Vietnam.

The company announced to start mass production of the vaccine last week, using semi-finished material shipped from Russia.

A Vabiotech representative said it expects to produce 40 million doses until June next year and all will be used in the national free Covid vaccination program.

The Sputnik V vaccine is developed based on the adenovirus vector, which involves inserting a piece of the novel coronavirus gene into the inactivated adenovirus to stimulate the response of immune cells. The vaccine is stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius and the waiting time between two injections is three weeks.

Announcing the results of the Sputnik V clinical trial in medical journal The Lancet, the manufacturer has said the vaccine has a 91.6 percent efficacy after the first shot, and 91.8 percent for those over 60 years old.

In Vietnam, Sputnik V was licensed by the Ministry of Health for emergency use on March 23 and trial production started late July.