In a statement, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories that is rolling out Sputnik V in India, said that the soft commercial launch of the Russian coronavirus vaccine is not put on hold. It added that the commercial roll-out of the vaccine will be strengthened in the coming weeks.
“Dr Reddy’s will strengthen the commercial roll-out of Sputnik V in the coming weeks. Neither the ongoing soft commercial launch nor work towards its ramp-up in India have been put on hold,” said the company in a statement.
"Starting initially in Hyderabad, today the soft launch roll-out of Sputnik V has scaled up speedily and reached cities and towns all over India - including but not limited to Hyderabad, Vizag, Bengaluru. Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Miryalaguda, Vijayawada. Baddi, Kolhapur, Kochi. Raipur, Chandigarh, Pune. Nagpur, Nashik, Coimbatore, Ranchi, Jaipur. Lucknow, Patna. Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad, Rajkot. Palakkad. Allahabad. Dimapur, Kohima, Indore, Bhopal, Surat. Cuttack, Dharwad, Ernakulam, Ratlam. Faridabad, Srinagar. Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Gulbarga, Madurai, Guntur. Kannur, Jabalpur, Jalandhar, Kanpur. Mysore," stated the company.
It further said that they have partnered with major hospitals across the country, all of whom have successfully administered Sputnik V in India, including ongoing commercial roll-outs to the public.
This clarification comes after news agency Reuters said that the full rollout of the vaccine will have to be put on hold until the Russian producer provides equal quantities of its two differing doses. The agency said in its report that Dr Reddy’s informed them in an email that they would not like to announce a full-fledged commercial launch until they have an equivalent quantity of the second dose.
Sputnik V was launched on a soft pilot basis in India on May 14. The Indian government is expecting 100 million locally produced and imported Sputnik V doses to be available in the country between August and December.
Also read: Sputnik V vaccine's single dose is sufficient for recovered COVID-19 patients, says study Also read: Zydus seeks emergency approval for 'needle-free' three-dose COVID-19 vaccine for children above 12