Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V's rollout pushed by another two weeks

Russia's COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, is yet to be commercially available in India, in view of delays in the import of consignments.

Launched in the country as a pilot on May 14, Sputnik V was expected to be rolled out in mid-June, which has now been pushed back by another two weeks.

Around three million doses of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in India, whereas, the consignment of the second dose is likely to land by the end of this month.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL), which is the distribution partner of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), acknowledged that there was a "slight postponement in the commercial launch due to dependency on imported consignments."

A company spokesperson told the Business Standard that the pilot phase commenced on May 14 in Hyderabad has thus far been extended to Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Raipur, Miryalaguda, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Vijayawada, Kolhapur, and Baddi.

"By the end of the final leg of the pilot phase, we aim to reach 28 cities. Our cold storage and other logistical arrangements are being executed in line with our commercialisation plan and are on track. We will continue to share updates related to Sputnik V," the DRL spokesperson told the publication.

Dr Reddy's is the sole distributor of the initial 250 million doses of Sputnik V in the country.

The first 50 million jabs are likely to be imported from Russia to ensure a speedier rollout before Indian pharma companies start producing Sputnik V.