Russian Sputnik Light Covid vaccine authorized in Iran: RDIF

Russian single-component Sputnik Light vaccine has been approved in Iran, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced on Wednesday, according to TASS news agency.

"RDIF today announced the Russian single-component Sputnik Light vaccine against coronavirus has been approved by the Ministry of Health of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the fund said in a press release.

Sputnik Light vaccine is the first component of the Sputnik V vaccine. Immunization with Sputnik Light will help to speed up the vaccination of the population and create herd immunity in a shorter time frame. In January 2021, the two-dose Sputnik V vaccine was also approved in Iran, RDIF said.

TASS added that according to the press release, Sputnik Light is safe and highly effective as demonstrated by real-world vaccination data in a number of countries. In particular, the data from the Ministry of Health of the Buenos Aires province (Argentina) shows 78.6-83.7% efficacy among the elderly. In Paraguay, Sputnik Light is 93.5% effective during the ongoing vaccination campaign according to the country’s Ministry of Health.