Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 is around 83 per cent effective against the Delta variant of the virus, lower than previously thought, Reuters quoted Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko as saying.
Russian authorities blamed the rise in coronavirus cases in June and July on the more contagious Delta variant and the population’s unwillingness to get vaccinated despite vaccination jabs being extensively available.
The vaccine’s developers in June claimed that Sputnik V was around 90 per cent effective against the Delta variant.
“The latest results show that effectiveness is around 83 per cent,” the TASS news agency cited Murashko as saying.
Alexander Ginsburg, director of the Gamaleya Institute which developed the vaccine, said on Wednesday in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper that Sputnik V was safe and effective against all strains of the coronavirus.
Russia, which has a population of around 144 million, has approved four locally produced vaccines. Around 6.5 million infections have been reported in the country since the start of the pandemic.
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