MOSCOW, Decm 9, 2021 (BSS/TASS) - Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine
in the safest and the most effective vaccine in the world, CEO of the Russian
Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said in an interview with the
Izvestia daily that came out on Thursday.

   "The latest data indicate that it is the best, the most effective and
safest vaccine in the world," he said.

   As an example, he cited a study conducted in Hungary. It demonstrated that
Sputnik V's efficacy is 98% "It is the highest figure. It means that people
inoculated with Sputnik V are protected against death from the coronavirus
infection by 130 times better than those unvaccinated. It is the highest
level of protection among the five vaccines that were studied," he said.

   He also noted that Sputnik V's efficacy lasts for a longer time as
compared with other vaccines and it causes much lesser side effects.

   Dmitried also said that Sputnik V is highly effective against new
coronavirus mutations.

   "As of today, Sputnik has demonstrated the highest efficacy among all
other vaccines against genome mutations. So, there are no serious grounds to
doubt Sputnik's high efficacy against new mutations," he said, adding that
the Gamaleya Institute, the vaccine developer, is studying the new Omicron
strain and will release its findings in two weeks.

   He also said that in case of the emergence of new infectious agents,
Sputnik's platform can be adapted quite swiftly and the production of a new
vaccine may be launched in two to three months.

   Sputnik V was registered in Russia on August 20, 2020 to become the
world's first officially recognized coronavirus vaccine. By today, its has
been approved for use in 71 world nations.