On Monday, India approved Russia’s one-shot Sputnik Light COvid-19 vaccine for unvaccinated people. India has approved the shots for emergency use almost 10 months after it cleared the two-dose Sputnik V.
Indian drugmaker Dr. Reddy’s spokesperson said, “The current restricted use in emergency situation approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to Sputnik Light is for the single-shot standalone vaccine. Our efforts to seek approval for Sputnik Light as a precautionary dose/booster are currently underway”. However, the was no immediate response to an email request for comment by the DCGI.
Currently, India is using AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine in tandem along with the local form Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. It has inoculated more than 75% of the adult population, 950 million adults.
The nation has also approved the booster shots for the frontline workers, senior citizens having morbidities. The government has mandated that the shots have to be the same as the original one.
According to several private hospitals, the majority of the population is demanding Covaxin (Bharat Biotech) and Covishield (Serum Institute of India).
The urban vaccine centers have reported slowing down post achieving a significant coverage in terms of vaccination.
