Sputnik V Nasal Vaccine: Russian Health Ministry Registers World's 1st Nasal Vaccine Against Covid-19

The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation has registered the nasal version of Sputnik V, the world's first nasal vaccine against Covid-19. 

Sputnik V | Getty Images

New Delhi: The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation has registered the nasal version of Sputnik V, the world's first nasal vaccine against Covid-19. 

"BREAKING: Russian Health Ministry registers the nasal version of Sputnik V, the world's first nasal vaccine against COVID-19," Sputnik V tweeted late Friday. 

BREAKING: Russian Health Ministry registers the nasal version of Sputnik V, the world's first nasal vaccine against COVID-19 pic.twitter.com/3rlZhD5yOV

— Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) April 1, 2022

Quoting Alexander Gintsburg, the director general of the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russian news agency TASS reported in January that the nasal vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 will be in civil circulation and available for Russians within three to four months. 

The Gamaleya Research Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology is a Russian medical-research institute within the Russian health ministry, and is best known internationally for developing the earliest vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, Sputnik V. It is the world's first registered Covid-19, vaccine with over 91.6 per cent efficacy, and is authorised in 71 countries.

"The nasal vaccine for the civil circulation will be available in three to four months," a TASS report quoted Gintsburg as saying. 

He also said that Sputnik V will be efficient against the Omicron variant.

"Laboratory tests show the Sputnik V protects against the Omicron in its ordinary injection form, and it will certainly be efficient in the nasal form," Gintsburg said.

In October 2021, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation issued the authorisation to the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology for the second phase of clinical trials of Sputnik V in the nasal spray form. 

In May 2021, Sputnik V was administered in India for the first time. 

On May 1, the first consignment of 1.50 lakh dozes of the vaccine arrived in India. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), in collaboration with Dr Reddy's Laboratories, delivered the Sputnik V vaccines to India. 

Arindam Bagchi, official spokesperson of the Union Ministry of External Affairs, had said that the Sputnik v vaccine, which arrived in Hyderabad from Russia, will add to the country's vaccine arsenal to end the pandemic. He said that this third option will augment India's vaccine capacity and accelerate the country's vaccination drive.

The other two options in India at that time were Covishield and Covaxin. 

Sputnik V is the world's first registered vaccine on a well-studied human adenovirus vector platform, and is named after the first Soviet space satellite. Adenovirus vectors are engineered viruses designed to shuttle a gene from SARS-CoV-2 into the body of the person injected with the vaccine, so that the cells will read it and make coronavirus spike proteins. 

The idea is to trick the body into thinking it has been infected, and the self-made spike proteins would train the body to detect and terminate any real SARS-CoV-2 infections before the virus wreaks havoc. Adenovirus vectors are a recombinant of adenovirus, which is a medium-sized, non-enveloped DNA virus that replicates in two phases. 

According to the official website of Sputnik V, the vaccine was the first coronavirus vaccine to use a heterogeneous boosting approach based on two different vectors for two vaccine shots.

Sputnik V demonstrates high virus neutralising activity against the Omicron variant, and is expected to protect against severe cases and hospitalisations, a preliminary laboratory study led by the Gamaleya Center shows.