Apollo Hospitals begins administering Sputnik V vaccine in Hyderabad

Marketing partner for Sputnik V in India, Dr. Reddy’s had on May 14 announced the rollout of the vaccine in the country

May 17, 2021 01:52 pm | Updated 02:31 pm IST - HYDERABAD:

CEO of Branded Markets (India & Emerging Markets), Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, M.V. Ramana (left) and president, Hospitals Division, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Limited, K. Hari Prasad at the launch Sputnik V vaccine programme at Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad on Monday, May 17, 2021.

CEO of Branded Markets (India & Emerging Markets), Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, M.V. Ramana (left) and president, Hospitals Division, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Limited, K. Hari Prasad at the launch Sputnik V vaccine programme at Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad on Monday, May 17, 2021.

Apollo Hospitals in Hyderabad has started administering Sputnik V, the Russian vaccine against COVID-19, as part of a limited pilot programme rolled out by Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories.

The vaccination began at the hospital in Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad on May 17 and will be launched at the Apollo Hospitals in Visakhapatnam on May 18. The vaccinations would follow the SOPs as recommended by the government, including registration on CoWIN, a statement said.

Besides Apollo Hospitals, the vaccine is also available in Hyderabad at Continental Hospitals, said Sauri Gudlavalleti, Global Head of Integrated Product Development Organization (IPDO) of Dr. Reddy’s.

Marketing partner for Sputnik V in India, Dr. Reddy’s had on May 14 announced the rollout of the vaccine in the country. It plans to make it available at 35 cities, primarily metros and tier I locations. The maximum retail price per dose, of the two dose, imported Sputnik V, is ₹995 , including a 5% GST.

Sputnik V, unlike the other two vaccines Covaxin and Covishield that are approved and being administered in the country since mid-January, uses two different vectors for the two shots. Since it has to be stored at minus 18 degrees C, special handling and logistics facilities are required.

In terms of cold chain management, Sputnik has certain additional requirements. “Once we are able to demonstrate [the handling, it] will pave the way for many more vaccines to be imported into the country,” said Dr. K.Hari Prasad, President – Hospitals Division, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises.

“Today we will be beginning a trial run to make sure all elements, from storing, administering and monitoring are run as per SOP... once we are confident will rollout to other cities,” he said, adding Sputnik V would be available at Apollo Hospitals in major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai.

On May 14, Dr. Reddy’s had announced rollout of Sputnik. It followed the company getting regulatory clearance from Central Drugs Laboratory in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh for the first consignment of the vaccine from Russia that arrived in Hyderabad on May 1. The second consignment, consisting of 60,000 doses of the second component of the vaccine, arrived on May 16.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.