MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. The Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have announced the development of another version of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, tailored to combat the Delta and Omicron strains, according to a RDIF statement.

"Since the onset of the pandemic, the Gamaleya Research Center has been actively studying newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 strains, accordingly adapting the Sputnik V vaccine. The new variant of the vaccine was created based on the special features of the Delta strain and those of the Omicron strain, which has been dominating the world in recent months. The medication is designed to combat the L-452-R mutation that is present in the Omicron BA.5 strain but cannot be found in the BA.1 one," the statement reads.

"The current version of the Sputnik V vaccine continues to prove its high effectiveness in preventing hospitalizations and deaths. According to research published by a team of experts from the Vorokhobov City Clinical Hospital Number 67 and the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in the Vaccines medical journal in June 2022, the Sputnik V vaccine’s efficacy in preventing hospitalizations among Omicron patients stands at 97% and at 99.4% in preventing severe forms of the disease among patients who received Sputnik Light or Sputnik V booster shots," the RDIF explained.

The jab’s adapted version will also make it possible to successfully prevent new cases, the fund pointed out, adding that Sputnik V had become the most exported medication in Russian history.

As many as 71 countries with a total population of over four billion people have authorized the use of Sputnik V, while Sputnik Light has been approved in 30 countries. The safety and efficiency of Sputnik V and Sputnik Light was confirmed in more than 50 clinical trials and the use of Sputnik V in national vaccination campaigns in various parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Data related to the trials of the Sputnik V vaccine was published in the world’s leading peer-reviewed medical journals such as The Lancet, Nature, Vaccines and Cell Reports Medicine.