13 Sep 2021 11:32

Sputnik Light demonstrates efficacy of over 80% among elderly in Argentina - RDIF

MOSCOW. Sept 13 (Interfax) - Studies conducted in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires have demonstrated up to 83.7% efficacy of Sputnik Light, the first component of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, among elderly citizens aged from 60 to 79, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement.

The information was published in EClinicalMedicine (released by the leading medical journal The Lancet).

"According to the study in the Province of Buenos Aires, the first component of Sputnik V has demonstrated 78.6-83.7% general efficacy against COVID-19 in high-risk elderly subjects aged 60-79 years old," the RDIF said.

Sputnik Light is the first component (recombinant human adenovirus serotype number 26 (rAd26)) of Sputnik V.

Hence, the efficacy of the first component of Sputnik V among the elderly is "significantly higher than efficacy demonstrated by most two-component vaccines," the RDIF said.

"Sputnik Light has also demonstrated efficacy against hospitalizations at 82.1-87.6%. The calculations are based on data from over 40,000 people collected by the Ministry of Health of the Province of Buenos Aires," it said.

The study shows that the first component of Sputnik V has prevented 84.8% of deaths from Covid-19.

The results were obtained in the course of retrospective comparison of morbidity among 41,500 Argentineans who made their vaccination appointments online in the Buenos Aires system (VACUNATE-PBA) since the start of mass vaccination on December 29, 2020, until March 21, 2021, and received the first dose of Sputnik V, and the morbidity of 38,900 unvaccinated residents of the republic. The entire control group and 40,300 persons from the vaccinated group belonged to the 60-79 age bracket.

Fifteen authors, including specialists from the Health Ministry of the Buenos Aires province, the National University of La Plata, Hospital Sor Maria Ludovica, La Plata, and the University of Buenos Aires, have contributed to the study.

In July, the RDIF reported results of another study conducted in Argentina, according to which one dose of Sputnik V is sufficient for vaccinating persons who earlier recovered from Covid-19. An article published in Cell Reports Medicine reported a high immune response in 94% of persons who recovered from Covid-19 and were vaccinated with Sputnik Light. The study involved 288 medical workers in Argentina.

Sputnik V has been approved in 70 countries with an overall population exceeding 4 billion.

Since it was registered in Russia on May 6, Sputnik Light has also been approved by Angola, Armenia, Bahrain, Belarus, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Palestine, and the Philippines. Bahrain has also started using Sputnik Light as a booster for vaccinated persons, alongside the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine.