Moscow [Russia], July 22 (ANI): The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Wednesday announced the approval of the Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus in the Republic of Chile.

Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine is now approved in 69 countries with total population exceeding 3.7 billion people - nearly half of the global population.

An official release said that real-world data obtained during vaccination with Sputnik V in a number of countries demonstrates that Sputnik V is one of the safest and most effective vaccines against coronavirus. The Russian vaccine ranks second among coronavirus vaccines globally in terms of the number of approvals issued by government regulators.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the RDIF, said: "Sputnik V has been registered in a number of countries in Central and South America and is successfully used there to save lives. Authorisation of the vaccine in Chile will help obtain access to one of the best vaccines against coronavirus. Sputnik V has demonstrated high efficacy and safety during the vaccination in many countries around the world. The vaccine creates a strong and durable immunity against COVID."

As per an official statement, the efficacy of Sputnik V is 97.6 per cent based on the analysis of data on the coronavirus infection rate among those in Russia vaccinated with both components of Sputnik V from December 5, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years, the release added.

Sputnik V has been approved in Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Republika Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Gabon, San-Marino, Ghana, and Syria.

Other countries include Kyrgyzstan, Guyana, Egypt, Honduras, Guatemala, Moldova, Slovakia, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Laos, Iraq, North Macedonia, Kenya, Morocco, Jordan, Namibia, Azerbaijan, Philippines, Cameroon, Seychelles, Mauritius, Vietnam, Antigua and Barbuda, Mali, Panama, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Turkey, Albania, Maldives, Ecuador, Brazil and Nigeria. (ANI)

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