Belarus registers the Sputnik V vaccine, becomes the first outside Russia

Production of the vaccine will also be launched in the country

Moscow, December 21, 2020 – The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, announces that Sputnik V, the Russian vaccine against coronavirus, has been registered by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus. Thus Belarus has become the first foreign country to officially register the vaccine.

Vaccination of volunteers in Belarus began on October 1as part of double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine funded by RDIF, involving 100 people in eight medical institutions selected as research centers in Belarus.

The Ministry of Health of Belarus has also considered the data obtained during the Phase III clinical trials of the vaccine in Russia. On December 14, the GamaleyaNational Center and RDIF announced the third and final control point analysis of data received21 days after administering the first dose to volunteers. The efficacy of the vaccine is 91.4%.

The calculation was based on the analysis of data of volunteers (n = 22 714) who received both the first and second doses of the Sputnik V vaccine or placebo at the third and final control point of 78 confirmed cases in accordance with the Phase III clinical trials protocol.

The vaccine demonstrated 100% efficacy against severe coronavirus cases. There were 20 severe cases of coronavirus infection among confirmed cases in the placebo group and no severe cases in the vaccine group.

Development of local production of the Sputnik V vaccine in Belarus is currently underway in partnership with RDIF.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said:

“Belarus has become the first country to take part in international clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine, and the first country to officially register it after Russia. Experts at the Ministry of Health of Belarus have highly praised the safety and efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine which is based on a well-studied human adenoviral vectors platform. The registration of the vaccine in Belarus and its local production will help accelerate vaccination of the population and protect Belarusian people with one of the most effective vaccines available in the world today.”