Over 1 million people in Russia vaccinated with Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine

The Sputnik V vaccine has been administered to more than 1 million people in Russia, according to the official vaccine Twitter account.

The Sputnik V vaccine has been administered to more than 1 million people in Russia, according to the official vaccine Twitter account. Russia became the first country to register the world's first COVID-19 vaccine on August 11, named after Russia's first satellite.

According to an earlier statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sputnik V is over 95 per cent effective. Taking to Twitter, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) cited Putin saying that some health specialists have claimed that the vaccine's protection level reaches up to 96-97 per cent.

Meanwhile, Sputnik V will be "highly effective" against the new strain of coronavirus found in Europe, said Kirill Dmitriev, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Russian Direct Investment Fund, the company which codeveloped the vaccine in December. However, people will have to observe extra precautions during the 42 days it takes for the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to become effective, New York Post quoted Tatiana Golikova, Russian Deputy Prime Minister as saying.

The world COVID-19 caseload has crossed 86 million cases, as per the latest updates by Johns Hopkins University. The total number of deaths reported due to coronavirus stands at 1,870,856. (ANI)