RDIF Says Sputnik V Effective Against New Coronavirus Strain

Kirill Dmitriev, Chief Executive Officer of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Monday, that the Russian Sputnik V vaccine is effective against the new Coronavirus strain that appeared in Europe.

During a telephone call with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, Dmitriev said: "We also confirm, to the best of our knowledge, that the Sputnik V vaccine is very effective against the new strain of the virus that appeared in Europe.

He added, "It is effective against existing strains and Sputnik V has shown itself to be effective again and again, despite previous mutations in the S protein."

It is worth, mentioning that dozens of countries, including 14 countries from the European Union, announced on Sunday, that they will temporarily stop flights to the United Kingdom after Britain detected a new strain of Coronavirus.

European media outlets reported that many European airlines have stopped their flights to Britain, most notably Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, and Croatia.

France has also suspended all flights to the United Kingdom for 48 hours. Sweden also prevented entry to travelers from Britain, and in the same context, Greece imposed a quarantine on them for a period of seven days, and Cyprus imposed a quarantine for those coming from Britain for a period of two weeks.

Turkey, Switzerland, Canada, Israel, and Argentina decided to suspend flights to Britain. Saudi Arabia closed its borders completely for a week and canceled all international flights.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday that “the new virus strain has led to a sharp rise in the number of infected people.”

The British government tightened its restrictions due to COVID-19 in London and surrounding areas and disrupted plans for the Christmas holidays.

The World Health Organization (WHO) urged its members around the world to “increase the genetic sequence determination of SARS-CoV-2 virus wherever possible and share data internationally to report if the same mutations of concern have been found.”