The vaccine development for the COVID-19 has been moving at a record speed around the world. However, some companies have already seen success in less than a year. While some of the first world countries developed COVID vaccines, Russian did not lag behind. Therefore, the whole world was surprised when President Vladimir Putin approved the country’s first domestically developed vaccine Sputnik V in August 2020. Though many countries around the world were confused about the efficacy of Russian Vaccine Sputnik V, now 59 countries in the world approved this Coronavirus vaccine. Here we addressed some frequently asked questions about Sputnik V. What is Sputnik V? Sputnik V is Russia’s first approved COVID-19 vaccine. This vaccine entered limelight when Putin publicly approved it and stunned about the other countries who were still working to develop their vaccines. Who invented this? It was entirely developed and produced by the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, a Russian medical research institute, and operated under the purview of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. Sputnik V was funded by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is widely known as Russia’s sovereign wealth fund. Read How to strengthen your immune system to prevent COVID-19 infections? What are the basics of Sputnik V? Sputnik V was developed based on the common idea. Gamaleya researchers used the commonly known viruses that cause colds as their vaccine prototype. Subsequently, they worked with the coronavirus spike protein gene and added two separate adenovirus vectors in it, such as rAd5 and rAd26. Further, the researchers engineered them to invade cells without replication. What is the working procedure of Sputnik V? Sputnik V works in six easy steps. In the first step, it is injected into a person’s arm. After that, the adenoviruses vector gets into the cells and can create a bar of proteins on the cells’ surface. The cell then put the virus in a bubble and then an adenovirus moves towards the nucleus. Next, adenovirus inserts its DNA in the nucleus, and adenovirus makes copies of itself. Further, the cells can read the coronavirus spike protein gene and copy it into a molecule “called messenger RNA or mRNA.” In the second step, mRNA leaves the nucleus and starts working on building spike proteins. The immune system recognizes the spike proteins. Afterward, the adenovirus excites the current immune system and switches them to the cell’s alarm system. Through the alarm system, Sputnik V makes the immune system respond strongly against the spike proteins. Also read: What does it feel like to get COVID-19 after taking the vaccine? In the third step, the system tries to spot the intruder. “When a vaccinated cell dies, the debris contains spike proteins and protein fragments.” Whenever such fragments are identified, a special kind of immune cell termed as, antigen-presenting cell absorbs those protein fragments. In the fourth step, the process of creating antibodies works. Different immune cells named B cell may come across with the coronavirus spikes and lock the spike proteins. The B cells are then triggered through help from helper T cells and pour out antibodies. Now the antibodies can work against the coronavirus spikes and work towards the destruction. Eventually, the antibody blocks the COVID-19 spikes and prevents infections. Read Safe Lifestyle in COVID-19 Lockdown: Do's, Don'ts, and Precautions If there is an infected cell in the body, the antigen-presenting cell calls an immune cell called a killer T cell to destroy any coronavirus cells.  How many doses of Sputnik V are needed? Two doses of Sputnik V are enough to create the antibodies and fight the virus. However, the doses need to take 21 days apart, and both doses use the same procedure. How many versions of Sputnik are available? After the success of the Sputnik V vaccine, the researchers worked harder to find out a more effective vaccination program. Nevertheless, they came up with a newer version of the vaccine, which is called ‘Sputnik Light,’ which is a single shot vaccine and claimed 79% effectiveness. How effective and safe is Sputnik V? According to the interim results’ data, Sputnik V has a 91.6% success rate. Besides, the data also shows that the vaccine does not have any significant side effects and it is totally safe. However, some mild side effects were reported, which was normal compared to the other available vaccines in the world. Read Can you mix-and-match COVID-19 vaccines? How much is Sputnik V? Initially, the price is set at $10 internationally. However, Russia has already approved many countries of the world to manufacture the Sputnik V vaccine remotely. Hence, the price may fall in the future. The Sputnik Light may cost less than $10. What is the storage procedure of this vaccine? Sputnik V needs to store at 2-8 degrees Celsius. Therefore, it is safe to transport and stored in any region of the world. Besides, it also comes in freeze-dried powder which makes it easier to store. How many countries approved Sputnik V? Russia has gone beyond the border to promote its invention. According to the latest data, minimum of 60 countries have approved the Russian Coronavirus Vaccine Sputnik V. What is more? This vaccine is ready to serve around 3 billion people globally, which is nearly 40% of the worldwide population. Indian, Bangladesh, Italy, China, UAE are among the 60 countries. Read New Covid strains won’t impact the efficiency of Russian vaccines, expert claims Does Sputnik V work against mutant variants? As soon as the new mutants emerged, Gamaleya’s researchers started working on that. A trial testing against the new mutants shows that the vaccine produces a strong result. However, it is not much effective against the South African variants but still works better than other vaccines. How is Russian Vaccine Sputnik V different from the other COVID-19 vaccines? Currently, there are at least eight COVID-19 vaccines available across the world. However, Russian COVID-19 Vaccine Sputnik V appears to be comparatively cheaper than other vaccines. Besides, the efficiency is relatively higher than other Covid vaccines. The newest Sputnik Light will certainly reduce the vaccination time length worldwide. Read The Latest: Sri Lanka receives 1st batch of Sputnik V shots

The first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine arrived in India on Saturday (May 01, 2021), a TASS correspondent reported. The vaccine was delivered to the airport of Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Telangana, by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which oversees the project. Read Russia’s Gamaleya center works on technology to quickly develop coronavirus vaccines Sputnik V was the third vaccine, which will be used in India. So far, only two drugs were used for immunization: Covishield, developed by the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, and also Covaxin of India’s firm Bharat Biotech. In February, Indian pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories applied for permission to use Sputnik V in India. The bid was approved in April. The company is ready to distribute the Russian vaccine. RDIF has also reached an agreement on manufacturing the vaccine with several Indian pharmaceutical companies. The vaccine earlier passed interim trials in India, which involved 1,600 volunteers. Read Bangladesh approves local production of Russian, Chinese Covid vaccines India's Ambassador to Russia Bala Venkatesh Varma said earlier this week that New Delhi expected to get some 150,000-200,000 Sputnik V doses by early May, some 3 mln doses by the end of the month and 5 mln doses by June. The Russian vaccine arrived in India on the day when the new stage of a national vaccination campaign is set to kick off among all citizens over 18 years of age. Until May 1 only Indian citizens above 45 were able to get the jab. However, the authorities in some states announced that the vaccination among citizens of between 18 and 44 years of age would begin as soon as there was the sufficient volume of drugs. Read Myanmar registers Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine Russia was the first in the world to register coronavirus vaccine on August 11, 2020, called Sputnik V. The drug was developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. The drug has been registered in many countries. Sputnik V is a vector vaccine based on the human adenovirus.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday (April 28, 2021) approved in principle a proposal for producing Russian and Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in Bangladesh.  “The cabinet body has approved in principle the Health Ministry’s proposal to facilitate the production of Russian and Chinese vaccines,” said Dr Shahida Aktar, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division, while briefing reporters after the meeting. Also Read: Bangladesh approves emergency use of Russian Sputnik V vaccine She noted that the government will purchase vaccine technology from Russian and China through direct procurement method (DPM) which means the Health Ministry will not require to follow any competitive bidding princess. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the virtual meeting where the proposal was placed by the Health Ministry on an emergency basis.  Also Read: Will take 2 weeks to get vaccine from alternative sources  Dr Shahida Aktar said Russia’s Sputnik-V and China’s Sinopharm will be produced in Bangladesh using the facilities and logistics of different private pharmaceutical companies. “No name of any specific companies was discussed at the meeting. But it was agreed in principle that the Russian and Chinese authorities will examine facilities and then things will be settled about who will produce the vaccines,” he added. Read Covid-19: Mexico to join clinical trials of Russian vaccine The approval from the government’s top authority came within a day of the government’s move to produce Covid-19 vaccines from Russian and China after India imposed a ban on the export of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine by Serum Institute to Bangladesh.  Mustafa Kamal said though Bangladesh approved Russian and Chinese vaccines’ local production, it will continue to its drive to have vaccine doses from India.  Read Myanmar registers Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine “We didn’t give up the hope about getting vaccine jabs from India,” he told the reporters. 

The government of Bangladesh on Tuesday (April 27, 2021) approved the emergency use of Russian Sputnik V Vaccine. The approval was given at a meeting of the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA). Also read: FM to join China-led virtual meeting on vaccine cooperation After the meeting, Director General of DGDA Mahbubur Rahman said, “Now there’s no legal bar to the import or use of this vaccine. If Bangladesh wants to purchase it, Russia will provide it next month,” he said.  “If everything goes well, this vaccine is expected to be available by May. In the first phase, 40 lakh doses will arrive,” he added. Read US will share AstraZeneca vaccines with world The DG said the DGDA has a 12-member public health emergency committee which examined the efficacy of the vaccine. The vaccine is around 91 percent effective against Covid and its emergency use has been approved considering all these things, he added. Read Will take 2 weeks to get vaccine from alternative sources: FM Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine gives around 92% protection against Covid-19, reported BBC on February 2 this year referring to late-stage trial results published in The Lancet reveal. “The vaccine was approved by Russia and it’s now being used in seven countries of the world. We’ve got all the data about it and we’ve scrutinised it through technical experts,” Mahbub added. Read Vaccine is not the only solution: Quader  Apparently considering its dwindling stock, the government suspended administering the first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from Apr 26.

Iran on Tuesday launched a coronavirus inoculation campaign among healthcare professionals with recently delivered Russian Sputnik V vaccines as the country struggles to stem the worst outbreak of the pandemic in the Middle East with its death toll nearing 59,000.

Vaccines from the West, Russia or China? Or none at all? That dilemma faces nations in southeastern Europe, where coronavirus vaccination campaigns are off to a slow start — overshadowed by heated political debates and conspiracy theories.

Developers of Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday called on British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to try combining its experimental shot with the Russian one to boost efficacy.

Russia on Friday has published the results of the early trials of the locally developed coronavirus vaccine and said it appeared to be safe and to prompt an antibody response.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says discussions are underway with Russia regarding a possible pre-qualification of the world's first COVID-19 vaccine.

The first-ever vaccine against the coronavirus got approval from the authorities concerned in Russia on Tuesday.