Coronavirus update: Sputnik Light vaccine gets nod for Phase 3 trials in India

Coronavirus update: The Drug Controller General of India has given its approval to the single-dose Covid 19 vaccine version of Sputnik V --- Sputnik Light --- to conduct Phase 3 trials on the Indian population.

A subject expert committee (SEC) meeting held on August 5 recommended that the trial condition based on the efficacy of Sputnik Light should also to be evaluated on the 42nd, 90th, and 180th days following the second dose. Also read | Engineer’s Day: India celebrates M Visvesvaraya’s 160th birthday "Interim analysis can be conducted on Day 42 as this data was generated during the Sputnik V trials in India after the first dose, which was stated to be available up to Day 21," reads the minutes of the SEC meeting. Earlier in the month of April, the two-dose version of the vaccine, Sputnik V, was approved for emergency use by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). According to Dr VK Paul, member (health), NITI Aayog, till now 8-9 lakh doses of Sputnik V have been administered in India. Sputnik Light, which is the first dose of the original two-dose composition, has shown the efficacy of 79 per cent. Also read |  PTC exclusive: Haryana to reopen schools for classes 1, 2 and 3 from Oct 1 As per the latest update on coronavirus vaccination, 61,15,690 doses of Covid 19 vaccines were administered in the last 24 hours. The country's vaccination coverage has surpassed the cumulative figure of 75.89 crore, as per the Union Health Ministry. According to the ministry, 75,89,12,277 doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered across the country so far through 76,68,216 sessions. Of the total, 1,03,65,064 health care workers have received the first dose and 86,27,893 doses have been administered as the second dose to them. -PTC News