MOSCOW, September 6. /TASS/. The single-component Sputnik Light vaccine has been approved for the use in Armenia, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said in a press release on Monday.

"RDIF today announced the Russian single-component Sputnik Light vaccine against coronavirus has been approved by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia," the organization said.

Sputnik Light is the first component of the Sputnik V vaccine. Immunization with Sputnik Light will help Armenia to significantly reduce the infection rate in the country and create herd immunity in a short time frame. In February 2021 the two-dose Sputnik V vaccine was also approved in Armenia, RDIF said.

"Sputnik Light is safe and highly effective as demonstrated by the real-world vaccination data in a number 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," according to the press release.

Thanks to its safety and efficacy, single-component Sputnik Light vaccine is now both used on standalone basis and also studied in combination with vaccines from other producers in a number of countries, RDIF noted.