Largest shipment of Russian jab Sputnik V arrives

MANILA – The Philippines received 720,000 doses of the government-procured Sputnik V vaccine on Saturday, the biggest delivery so far by Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute.

Emirates Flight EK332 landed around 4 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City with 360,000 doses each of Components I and II.

The shipment was welcomed by National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 special medical adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa, Russian Ambassador Marat Pavlov, Philippine Archipelago International Trading Corporation chair Benito Yap Aw and president Olivia Limpe Aw, NTF Director Francel Tuborlupa, Department of Health Director Maria Soledad Antonio, and NTF medical consultant Dr. Maria Paz Corrales.

Herbosa said the new shipment brought the country’s Sputnik V jabs to 1.3 million doses and the country’s total doses received to 91,339,530 doses.

“We do hope that this will help a lot in our vaccination program,” Herbosa said in an interview.

He said the government is committed to fulfilling its promise of acquiring around 104 million doses by the end of October.

He also announced that another 271,440 doses of Pfizer vaccine will be arriving at about 9:20 p.m.

Included in the government’s vaccination program is the plan to procure Sputnik Light, the single-dose version of the Sputnik V jab.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets Sputnik Light in the international market, told news agency Reuters in an October 13 story that the one-dose jab is 70 percent effective against the Delta variant of the coronavirus three months after injection.

RDIF is promoting Sputnik Light as a standalone vaccine and as a booster that can be combined even with non-Russian vaccines.