After Pfizer, Russia Says Its Covid Vaccine Sputnik V Over 90% Effective

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 is more than 90% 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% 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%. The appearance of another effective vaccine - this is good news for everyone," Drapkina said.