Does Sputnik V Work Against Omricon?

New Delhi: A preliminary laboratory research done by Russia's Gamaleya Center on Friday stated that the Sputnik V vaccination and the one-shot Sputnik Light booster are effective against the vaccine-evading and super mutant Omicron variant of Covid.

According to the study, Sputnik V has substantial viral neutralising ability against the Omicron variant and is likely to provide robust resistance against severe sickness and hospitalisation.

In addition, the Sputnik V has shown a 3–7-times reduced loss in viral neutralising activity against Omicron. Sputnik V has been demonstrated to be 11.8 times ineffective against Omicron, while Pfizer has seen a 41-fold drop in antibodies developed and Moderna has shown a 49-84-fold decrease in antibodies generated.

The Gamaleya Center said in a statement that "the study was conducted using sera with a longer period after vaccination (more than 6 months after vaccination) as an indicator of Sputnik V’s long-lasing protection, in contrast with short study periods for other vaccine producers (12–27 days for Pfizer-BioNTech and 28 days for Moderna)."

Furthermore, based on sera 2-3 months after revaccination, Sputnik Light as a booster considerably boosts viral neutralising activity against Omicron.

The viral neutralising activity against Omicron 2-3 months after a Sputnik Light booster was shown to be stronger than against the wild-type virus 6 months after Sputnik V vaccination, according to the research.

According to the research, Sputnik V with the Sputnik Light booster might have an efficiency of more than 80% against Omicron infection, according to the statement.

"Sputnik Light as a booster significantly increases virus neutralising activity against Omicron based on sera 2-3 months after revaccination and is a universal booster to other vaccines, inducing stronger antibody and T-cell responses," the statement said.

According to a study released by a research group from scientific institutes including the Institute for Medical Virology (Frankfurt), 100% of people revaccinated using Sputnik Light as a booster generated Omicron neutralising antibodies.

According to the centre, Sputnik V and Sputnik Light have not been linked to uncommon significant side effects such as myocarditis or pericarditis.

Sputnik Light is already approved in over 20 countries as a single vaccination and universal booster, while Sputnik V is approved in 71 countries.