MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/. The Russian Sputnik Light vaccine against the coronavirus has been approved by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Benin, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement on Friday.

"The Russian Direct Investment Fund announces that the Russian one-component Sputnik Light vaccine against the coronavirus has been approved by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Benin. The vaccine was registered under the emergency use authorization procedure," the statement said.

A preliminary study of the Gamaleya Center has found Sputnik Light significantly increases virus neutralizing activity against Omicron based on sera 2-3 months after revaccination with 100% of individuals revaccinated with Sputnik Light as a booster having developed neutralizing antibodies against this variant. Sputnik Light booster is recommended to strengthen efficacy of vaccines against Omicron. Boosting by Sputnik Light can strengthen and lengthen the quickly waning efficacy of many vaccines in light of combined Delta and Omicron challenge. Sputnik Light has been registered in over 30 countries by now.

According to the latest statistics, about 320.2 mln people have been infected with coronavirus worldwide and around 5.5 mln deaths have been reported. To date, 10,747,125 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 9,809,300 patients having recovered from the disease, according to the data provided by the coronavirus crisis center. Russia’s latest data indicates 319,911 fatalities nationwide.