COVID-19 vaccine: Russia's Sputnik V to cost less than Rs 730 in India

Russia's COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V will cost less than $10 (Rs 730) per shot in India and other countries. Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's is conducting trials of the vaccine in India and went into phase 3 trials earlier in January.

"The price we have is the same for all of the markets and we have basically announced the pricing of less than $10 per shot. And it will be the same for all of the markets because we believe that there needs to be equal access, equal pricing to all of the countries without any sort of changes, "CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev said.

Dmitriev added Sputnik V's $10 price tag is not only affordable but also half to one-third of other vaccines and has an efficacy rate of more than 90 per cent. Sputnik V can be stored and delivered at 2 to 8 degrees, which implies that it can be stored in a conventional refrigerator unlike some vaccines that require temperatures as low as -70 degrees.

He was quoted by news agency ANI as saying, "We would never have done a vaccine at minus 70 degrees because we understand it's not accessible to most of the world. So Sputnik V is an accessible vaccine. We believe it's accessible and affordable to all of the nations in the world and that has been the focus from the beginning."

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