Sputnik V, the Russian Covid-19 vaccine, is expected to be available at Delhi’s Indraprastha Apollo Hospital from June 15, sources told a news agency. The vaccine rollout depends on the number of consignments received by the hospital.

Sputnik V was accorded emergency use authorisation by the Drugs Controller General of India on April 13 and is already available in a few hospitals. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hyderabad, is the Indian partner of the Russian Direct Investment Fund to locally produce the vaccine. It is the third vaccine to get approval in the country after Serum Institute of India’s Covaxin and Bharat Biotech’s Covishield. The price per dose of the vaccine has been capped at ₹1,145 by the Union government.

On May 1, 1.5 lakh doses of Sputnik V vaccines from Russia landed at the Hyderabad airport, the nation's first Sputnik V consignment. The southern state of Tamil Nadu also received its very first consignment on June 8. The first phase of vaccine rollout by Apollo Hospitals and Dr Reddy's Laboratories started on a pilot basis on May 17 in Hyderabad and on May 18 in Visakhapatnam.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters that Sputnik V was being sold in 66 countries around the world and that Russia is the only country to transfer vaccine technology for the purpose of expanding production abroad.

Sputnik V has been developed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, and the Gamaleya Institute. RDIF has said that more than 850 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine will be produced annually in India, reported by the agency.`

(With inputs from agencies)