Indian government to start administering sputnik v vaccines as Morepen manufactures its first test batch of the vaccine

INDIA – Sputnik V vaccine will now become the third vaccine administered in India after production of the same began in Morepen laboratories following a signed an agreement between the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Morepen Laboratories.

The vaccines will be administered at government vaccine facilities across the country under a free campaign vaccination program.

This vaccination campaign program is targeting a population sample size of nearly 93 million individuals above the age of 18 years.

The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years.

Sputnik V was granted an emergency use authorization in India on April 12, 2021 and the country is the leading production hub for Sputnik V.

Prior to Morepen’s agreement, RDIF had reached agreements earlier with other leading pharmaceutical companies in India – Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma and Virchow Biotech.

In total, agreements with partners in India provide for production of more than 850 million doses of Sputnik V per year.

The vaccination program also comes at a time when the Indian prime minister announced that its CoWin platform for COVID vaccination will be made available to any country.

CoWin is an acronym for Covid Vaccine Intelligent Work and was a platform unveiled back in January 2021 by the union government during a vaccination drive across India.

This website was created to give users a chance to book vaccine slots, keep a track of the overall vaccination drive in the country and download the COVID vaccination certificate.

It also gives healthcare providers backend rights to manage vaccine stock and keep track of the workflow.

The platform gives users a chance to register with their phone numbers where they will later get a one-time-password to use and book for a vaccination appointment.

Availability of the platform will be made by the Indian government and will be an open source platform as the government said it will not attach any intellectual property rights to it.

It also added that it will not allow the platform to be repackaged or reused for commercial purposes.

According to the Indian Government, close to 140 countries have engaged in the use of the platform with another 50 countries expressing interest in the use of the platform.