The Gamaleya research centre, which is developing Sputnik V vaccine, said it offers up to 2 years of immunity against the coronavirus, much more than the 4-5 months immunity that might be achieved using Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine.

Alexander Gintsburg, the head of Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute, said the vaccine could provide protection for two years at least. Commenting on the Pfizer vaccine, Gintsburg said, "It is difficult to say how long the Pfizer vaccine will give immunity, but based on the general findings from such vaccines, one must think that the period of protection will be no more than four to five months, although this requires experimental data.”

If the claim made by the Russian vaccine developer is true, it could become an effective vaccine option against Covid-19. The development is particularly good for countries like India, which faces logistical hurdles in transporting the Pfizer vaccine.

It may be noted that Russia had become the first country in the world to register a Covid-19 vaccine earlier this year. The vaccine, Sputnik V, has been named after Russia’s first satellite.

In Russia, a mass vaccination programme using Sputnik V has already started; developers say the vaccine is 95 per cent effective based on interim trial results. Meanwhile, a press statement released by researchers at the Gamaleya Institute announced that the Sputnik V vaccine showed 91.4 per cert efficacy based on data analysis of the final control point of clinical trials.