New Delhi: India will receive its first doses of Sputnik-V, a Russian-made coronavirus vaccine; on Saturday (May 1st), as Covid-19 cases and deaths have risen dramatically with more than 300,000 new infections registered daily for the past nine days. The first doses of the vaccine will arrive on Saturday (May 1st), according to Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is marketing Sputnik V globally.

“The first doses will be delivered on May 1st,” Dmitriev was quoted as saying. He did not specify how many vaccines would be included in the first batch or where they would be manufactured. He hoped that the Russian-made vaccine would aid India in averting the crisis caused by Covid-19's second wave.

The Sputnik-V shipment, which was authorized by an advisory panel earlier this month, would help India prepare for the pandemic, as many states have complained about vaccine shortages, forcing them to change their vaccination plans. Sputnik-V will soon be included in India's vaccine programme, and it is hoped that this will help the country's recovery from the pandemic. In phase III of its vaccination drive, India started vaccinating people over the age of 18 on Saturday (May 1st).

Earlier this year, the RDIF signed agreements with five major domestic manufacturers for over 850 million doses. It has also set a target for India to produce more than 50 million doses per month by summer. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week about how Sputnik-V was a useful weapon in the battle against Covid-19.

Turkey, Chile, and Albania are the new countries to approve Sputnik-V, joining 60 others. Several analysts believe the Sputnik-V vaccine, which was initially met with skepticism, is a ‘scientific and political victory' for Putin and Russia. The creators of Sputnik-V, Gamaleya Research Centre, have repeatedly said that the vaccine is the best Covid-19 vaccine in the world.