As the Omicron variant has already spread in nearly 91 countries, a preliminary laboratory study shows that the Sputnik V vaccine and the one-shot Sputnik Light booster (based on human adenovirus serotype 26, the first component of Sputnik V) are effective against Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of COVID, providing for better protection when compared to other vaccines.
The study has been conducted by the Gamaleya Center and its recent preliminary laboratory study shows that Sputnik V demonstrates high virus neutralizing activity (VNA) against the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant and is expected to provide strong defense against severe disease and hospitalization.
According to a release, the vaccine has demonstrated 3-7x less of a reduction in virus neutralizing activity against Omicron as compared to data from other vaccine producers: 11.8 times decrease of VNA for Sputnik V in contrast with 41 times decrease for Pfizer-BioNTech (according to the study led by scientists from Africa Health Research Institute published on Dec 7, 2021) and 49-84 times decrease for Moderna (according to the study published by research group from scientific institutes including Vaccine Research Center on December 15, 2021).
So far, Sputnik V is showing the best virus neutralization results against Omicron in comparison with other vaccines.
The study was conducted using sera with a longer period after vaccination (more than 6 months after vaccination) as an indicator of Sputnik V’s long-lasing protection, in contrast with short studied periods for other vaccines producers (12-27 days for Pfizer-BioNTech and 28 days for Moderna).
The study further shows that Sputnik V elicits strong and long-lasting T-cell response, and as 80% of epitopes in the spike protein are not affected by the mutations in the Omicron variant, Sputnik V is expected to provide long-lasting protection against severe disease by Omicron. The vaccine’s long-lasting T-cell immunity contributes to 80% efficacy against Delta on months 6-8 compared with efficacy of less than 29% demonstrated by certain mRNA vaccines after 6 months.
Sputnik Light booster is expected to provide strong protection against infection, severe disease and hospitalization by Omicron.
