Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine Approved For Commercial Release In Brazil - Ministry

MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th April, 2021) Brazil's Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTIC) has recognized Sputnik V, the Russian vaccine against COVID-19, as safe and has approved its commercial release in the country.

"The National Technical Commission on Biosafety (CTNBio) of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation approved the commercial release of the vaccine under the name of Gam-COVID-Vac [Sputnik V]," the ministry said on Monday.

In August 2020, Russia became the first country in the world to register a vaccine against the coronavirus, dubbed Sputnik V, and developed by the Gamaleya research institute.

The vaccine has been approved for emergency use in 60 countries worldwide.

According to an interim analysis from a trial published in The Lancet medical journal, the vaccine has 91.6 percent efficacy. Meanwhile, the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have reported that Sputnik V has 97.6 percent efficacy.