In the next two days, Russia will send another 1.5 lakh doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, and another 30 lakh doses will arrive in Hyderabad with Dr Roddy’s Laboratories by the end of the month.
Russia has agreed to increase vaccine production to more than 50 lakh units next month and one crore units by July.
On May 1, the first consignment of 150,000 Sputnik V vaccine doses arrived in Hyderabad from Russia. The initial quantity will be used through various networks as a pilot to line up the supply chain for the broader vaccination programme rollout, according to Dr Reddys Laboratories, which has partnered with Russian Direct Investment Fund for the vaccine.
In addition, Russia is sending at least four medium oxygen generator vehicles, each of which can feed a 200-bed hospital once connected to the power grid. These trucks deliver 70 kilogrammes of oxygen per hour and 50,000 litres per day, ensuring that the hospital to which they are attached never runs out of oxygen.
Dr. Reddys and RDIF announced a collaboration in September 2020 to perform clinical trials of the SputnikV, which was established by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, as well as the rights to distribute the first 100 million doses in India.
It was later increased to 125 million. On April 12, Dr. Reddys obtained approval from the Indian drug regulator for the limited emergency use of Sputnik V in India.
“New Delhi and Moscow are in continuous contact via diplomatic channels to ensure that medical assistance is available as quickly as possible,” an Indian diplomat reportedly said.
Currently, the Centre is conducting a nationwide vaccination campaign using two COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Serum Institute of India in Pune: Covaxin from Bharat Biotech and Covishield from Oxford-AstraZeneca. Hyderabad customs expedited the clearance of the COVID-19 vaccine imported from Russia, according to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in a tweet.
