ROME, August 10. /TASS/. Antibodies to coronavirus after receiving a second dose of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine were developed by 99% of the participants of a joint study by San Marino’s government and Italy’s Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases, representative of San Marino’s Institute for Social Security Franco Cavalli told TASS.

"The study conducted jointly with the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute is directed at researching the vaccine’s efficacy. In San Marino, the studies so far have been focused on measuring the level of antibodies 21 days after introducing the first dose and then 21 days after injecting the second dose [of the vaccine]. According to preliminary results which were obtained based on data of more than 5,000 people, after the second dose more than 99% [of study participants] developed the antibodies," the official said. He emphasized that now the Italian institute will "conduct a quality analysis of these antibodies." "The study still continues," he noted.

The official reported that almost 20,000 residents of San Marino (almost two-thirds of the population) were inoculated with Sputnik V. "To 19,927 individuals one can add 840 foreign tourists who traveled to get vaccinated from various countries," he added. According to the official, there have been instances of coronavirus infection during the interval between the first and the second dose as well as immediately following the second dose. "However, so far we do not have the exact data on this. And we know that similar cases happened also with the Pfizer vaccine," he added.

The first batch of Sputnik V, according to an agreement between the republic’s government which is not part of the EU and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) arrived in San Marino on February 23. In May, the local authorities announced the closure of the coronavirus department at a local hospital.

On August 11, 2020, Russia became the first worldwide to register the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus infection, the Russian jab has been certified by almost 70 countries.

Over 30 countries have already launched mass inoculation with Sputnik V. The efficacy of the jab at the level of 91.6% was confirmed by the data published in the leading medical journal The Lancet. On March 4, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) reported that it began the rolling review of the vaccine.