Laos becomes the 20th country to authorize the one-shot Sputnik Light vaccine

Moscow/New Delhi, December 01, 2021 – The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund) today announced the Russian single-component Sputnik Light vaccine against coronavirus has been approved in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Thus Laos has become the 20th country to register Sputnik Light. 

Sputnik Light vaccine is based on human adenovirus serotype 26, which is the first component of the Sputnik V vaccine. In March 2021 the two-dose Sputnik V was also authorized in Laos. Both Sputnik Light and Sputnik V vaccines have been approved under the emergency use authorization procedure. 

One-shot Sputnik Light is a highly effective vaccine when used both on standalone basis and applied as a booster. The latest findings by the Gamaleya Center based on data from 28,000 subjects in Moscow have demonstrated Sputnik Light vaccine administered standalone has 70% efficacy against infection from the Delta variant of coronavirus during the first three months after vaccination. The vaccine is 75% effective among subjects under the age of 60. 

Efficacy of one-shot Sputnik Light as a booster against Delta variant for other vaccines will be close to the efficacy against the Delta variant of the Sputnik V vaccine: over 83% against infection and over 94% against hospitalization.

A one-shot vaccination regimen of Sputnik Light has a number of key advantages, including ease of administering the vaccine, monitoring and more flexible re-vaccination schedule when used as a booster.

Sputnik Light has demonstrated a superior efficacy compared with some two-shot vaccines, which have shown a major decline in efficacy against the Delta variant to less than 50% five months after injection. Standalone use of Sputnik Light also provides much higher efficacy against severe disease and hospitalizations. 

Sputnik Light has been proven to be safe and highly effective by real-world vaccination data. In particular, the vaccine has demonstrated efficacy of between 78.6-83.7% among the elderly as confirmed by the Ministry of Health of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Paraguay’s Ministry of Health also found Sputnik Light to be 93.5% effective during the country’s ongoing vaccination campaign. 

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy. RDIF’s management company is based in Moscow.

Currently, RDIF has experience of the successful joint implementation of more than 80 projects with foreign partners totaling RUB 2.1tn and covering 95% of the regions of the Russian Federation. RDIF portfolio companies employ more than 1 mn people and generate revenues which equate to more than 6% of Russia’s GDP. RDIF has established joint strategic partnerships with leading international co-investors from more than 18 countries that total more than $40 bn. Further information can be found at rdif.ru

*This Press Release is published by team VOH*