Sputnik Vaccine Gets Step Closer to WHO Approval

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is so close to getting World Health Organization's approval, Reuters reported on Saturday.

He added that all required procedures are done, and only documents and paperwork remains.

Sputnik V vaccine is approved and used in more than 70 countries around the work, and it is under the evaluation of the WHO and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

WHO approval could open more markets for the Russian vaccine, and it could be widely distributed around the world.

He told Reuters: "Russia's position on promotion and registration of the Sputnik V vaccine was heard, we have removed all the questions for today."

Last month, Murashko revealed that the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine dose is effective by 83% against the lately emerged Delta variant, asserting that the vaccine secures people from 95% of severe illness that caused by the virus.

Delta variant is still raising the concern of the whole world as it causes an unstoppable surge in the number of infections.

In the same context, Russia produced another COVID-19 vaccine under the name of Sputnik Light. It is a single shot, and the price of the dose reaches $ 10 maximum.

It is worthy to mention that the latest approved COVID-19 vaccine by the international organization was the Chinese Sinopharm, and Sinovac. In a report released by the advisory board of the WHO about Sinopharm, the group of experts affirmed the effectiveness of the two-dose vaccine for adults aged between 18 and 59 years old with 90%.

Until now, only seven COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for emergency use by the WHO. They are Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, AstraZeneca’s vaccine that manufactured in India Covidshield, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.