Sputnik V; the Russian Weapon Against the COVID 19 Pandemic

Since its’ first discovery in Wuhan, China in December 2020 the entire world began the quest to find a cure for this deadly pandemic named COVID 19. Since this is a viral disease the world knew right away that only possible answer to this is a vaccine. But developing a vaccine in a such a short period of time was indeed a challenge for researchers around the world. But with the latest technologies in their hands some research teams came up with vaccines that were effective against COVID 19. Many of these vaccine candidates had been developed using novel technologies bypassing the conventional methods.

According to Bloomberg website more than 1.19 billion doses have been administered across 175 countries as of today, 5^th May 2021. Sri Lanka began the vaccination program against COVID-19 late January and so far 1.05 million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine have been given to Sri Lankans.   With the recent issues in acquiring more doses from the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine due to the supply shortages Sri Lanka is now on the look for acquiring other available types of COVID – 19 vaccines.

Sputnik V vaccine, a product of Russian Research facility, Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology is one of the main vaccination candidate Sri Lanka is looking forward to acquire in mass scale. The first consignment of Sputnik V Vaccine with 15000 doses arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday, 4^th May 2021.  According to state officials Sri Lanka is to receive 13 million doses of this Sputnik V vaccine in near future.

Sputnik V a Two Vector Vaccine

First registered in August 11 2020 the Sputnik V vaccine was first approved for distribution within Russia on September 2020 after initial phase I and phase II clinical trials. In December 2020 Russia began emergency distribution of the vaccine in countries including Argentina, Belarus, Hungary, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates.

Unlike many other two dose vaccines the Sputnik V vaccine uses two different adeno viral vectors to deliver the cDNA strand that contains the coding sequence for the Spike protein of the COVID-19 virus. The two adenoviral vectors named type 26 and type 5 are used in the two doses of the Sputnik V virus. Both these viral vectors are modified ones with E 1 gene, the gene responsible for the viral replication within our cells, removed to prevent replication.

According to Gamaleya Research Institute Sputnik V shows a vaccine efficacy 91.6% based on the analysis of data on 19,866 volunteers.

Why two vectors?

The two vector system used in Sputnik V vaccine is a breakthrough technology introduced by Gamaleya Research Institute, these two different vectors increase the efficacy of the vaccine by a huge margin as the possible immune resistance that buildup within our bodies against the first adenoviral vector  do not interfere with the second vector increasing the cDNA delivery efficiency by a huge margin.

How does this vaccine work?

The graphic below from the sputnik website shows how this unique vaccine works inside our bodies. First two adenoviral vectors are created by inserting the cDNA strands with the coding sequence for the spike protein of the SARS nCoV 2 virus. Then in the first vaccination ad26 vector delivers the cDNA to the human cells and start the production of Spike Proteins within those cells. And when these newly created s proteins enter our blood stream, our immune system recognizes those as a threat and start producing antibodies against those. With the second dose of the vaccine the process repeats, but with a totally new vector(ad5). Again, the cells produce s proteins boosting the immune response against those providing a long-lasting protection.  

Two types – Two storage conditions

The Sputnik V vaccine is available in two forms, first a liquid form which needs -18 or lower temperatures and the second a freeze-dried powder that can be stored under normal refrigerated conditions( 2 – 4 degrees Celsius).

Mix and Match against AstraZeneca vaccine

With the increasing demand for vaccines and occasional shortages of supply of the vaccines create problems where some countries find it difficult to find enough vaccines for the second dose. Given this scenario researchers are now working on research programs to assess the immunogenicity and safety of the combined use of two different vaccines in two doses. In one such research a clinical trial has been already started in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Scientists believe this mixing and matching different vaccines may help create a long lasting immune response against the virus. Specially this will address the possibility of developing an immunity against the adenoviral vectors after the first dose. So scientists are specially looking at mixing adenoviral vectors like Sputnik or AstraZeneca with mRNA vaccines like Pfizer. This technique of mixing and matching vaccines may help fighting the new variants more effectively.

Vaccine, the Only Way Out from this Crisis

With the reports coming in from all around the globe, it’s obvious that a proper vaccination program is the only way out from this pandemic for any nation. To achieve that over 80% of the total population has to be vaccinated. But that threshold of vaccination for a county like India or Sri Lanka is still too far away. So, for now the only precaution we can take to protect our selves from this deadly disease is to adhere to those good health practices that kept us free and safe from the virus so far.