After Pfizer, Russia claims Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine over 90% effective

Russia's comments followed Pfizer Inc and BioNTech's who said their Covid-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective

Bottles with Russia's "Sputnik-V" vaccine against the coronavirus disease. Credit: Reuters Photo

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 is more than 90 per cent effective, a representative of the health ministry said on Monday, citing data collated from vaccinations of the public rather than from an ongoing trial.

The comments followed a statement earlier on Monday by vaccine developers Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, who said their experimental Covid-19 vaccine was more than 90 per cent effective.

Also read: Pfizer, BioNTech say their Covid-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective

"We are responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the Sputnik V vaccine among citizens who have received it as part of the mass vaccination programme," Oksana Drapkina, director of a research institute under the health ministry, said in a statement.

"Based on our observations, it is also more than 90 per cent. The appearance of another effective vaccine - this is good news for everyone," Drapkina said.