President Putin Says Sputnik V Works Better Against Omicron Variant Than Other Vaccines

Presiden Vladimir Putin. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru/Presidential Press and Information Office)

JAKARTA - Russia's Sputnik V vaccine works better against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus than any other vaccine used globally, President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the 30th congress of the Union of Russian Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) on Friday.

"It seems that today our Sputnik V is working well and, perhaps, even better against Omicron than any other vaccine used globally," President Putin quoted TASS as saying December 18.

"Experts will provide a final estimate of the efficiency of the Sputnik V against the Omicron variant in the coming days," added President Putin.

President Putin further explained that Moscow is ready to provide a single-use Sputnik Light vaccine for use by other countries as a booster, including European countries.

"Even we can share the vaccines that we have with other countries, I mean as a booster, including with European countries as well," said President Putin.

"We are ready to give Sputnik Light to countries that want to use it for booster shots. We have got enough volume to share it with other countries," he said.

As previously reported, Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, if necessary, can be quickly adapted to deal with the new strain of coronavirus discovered in South Africa, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said in an interview with the RT TV channel.

"We can quickly adapt the vaccine to new variants of the coronavirus, if needed. We believe Sputnik V for now is the most effective vaccine against the mutation of the corona virus," he explained.

Dmitriev stressed the importance of cooperation in the development of vaccines, in particular the possibility of combining them.

He recalled earlier on Friday he had held a meeting with his Chinese counterparts to work together on developing a vaccine combination.

"We are open to partnerships and believe that a combination vaccine is a good idea for humanity," Dmitriev said.