Regulatory authorities of China have approved the mixing of domestic inactivated vaccines against COVID (in particular, Sinovac and Sinopharm) and use of a different vaccine, including adenoviral-based, as booster shot providing yet another confirmation of the efficacy of mix & match approach pioneered by the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in creating a stronger and more durable immunity, including against the Omicron variant.
Vaccines produced by Chinese companies (Sinovac and Sinopharm) are widely used with over 4.7 billion doses supplied in China and globally[1]. While China’s State Council has authorized mix & match boosting only with domestic vaccines[2], the Russian one-shot Sputnik Light vaccine (the first component of Sputnik V) can become a solution for boosting those initially vaccinated with Chinese vaccines in other countries around the world.
Sputnik Light has already shown strong results used as a booster in mix & match trials, including for inactivated vaccines. For example, the study conducted in Argentina on Sputnik Light combination with other vaccines has shown that antibody and T-cells response elicited by Sputnik Light as a booster to inactivated Sinopharm vaccine is 10x higher vs two shots of Sinopharm. The study also has demonstrated that each “vaccine cocktail” combination with Sputnik Light with other vaccines like Moderna, AstraZeneca and Cansino had provided a higher antibody titer on the 14th day after administering a second dose when compared to original homologous (same vaccine as first and second dose) regimens of each of the vaccines. Using Sputnik Light in combinations with all other vaccines showed high safety profile with no serious adverse events following the vaccination in any combinations.
The heterogeneous boosting approach (“vaccine cocktail” using human adenovirus serotype 26 as the first component and human adenovirus serotype 5 as the second component) pioneered by the Russian Gamaleya Center is at the core of Sputnik V, the world’s first registered vaccine against coronavirus. This approach had proven successful in creating a longer and more durable immunity against the coronavirus as demonstrated by the real-world data from Hungary, San Marino, Argentina, Serbia, Bahrain, Mexico, UAE and other countries.
To date Sputnik Light has been approved in more than 30 countries with a total population of over 2.5 billion and Sputnik V – in 71 countries with a total population of over 4 billion people.
Sputnik V creates stronger and longer lasting immune response against COVID (including the Omicron variant) than many other vaccines, which is further strengthened by Sputnik Light booster. A unique comparative study[3] conducted at Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Italy by a team of 12 Italian and 9 Russian scientists led by Francesco Vaia, Director of the Spallanzani Institute and Alexander Gintsburg, Director of the Gamaleya Center has shown that Sputnik V vaccine demonstrates more than 2 times higher titers of virus neutralizing antibodies to Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant than 2 doses of Pfizer vaccine (2.1 times higher in total and 2.6 times higher 3 months after vaccination).
The study was conducted in the equal laboratory conditions on comparable sera samples from individuals vaccinated with Sputnik V and Pfizer with a similar level of IgG antibodies and virus neutralizing activity (VNA) against Wuhan variant. Sputnik V showed significantly smaller (2.6 times) reduction of virus neutralizing activity against Omicron as compared to reference Wuhan variant than Pfizer vaccine (8.1-fold reduction for Sputnik V in contrast to 21.4-fold reduction for Pfizer vaccine).
Based on the data collected by the Spallanzani Institute and results of previous studies, mix & match boosting with Sputnik Light is the best solution to increase other vaccines’ efficacy and extend the booster protection period as optimal adenoviral platform configuration provides better protection against Omicron and other mutations.
Sputnik Light and Sputnik V and have been developed using a safe technology that has been widely studied for over 30 years and have not been associated with rare serious side effects such as myocarditis or pericarditis.
The highest safety and efficacy of Sputnik V and Sputnik Light was demonstrated in more than 30 studies and real-world data publications from more than 10 countries.
Sputnik V and Sputnik Light can be stored in a conventional refrigerator at +2 +8ºC for 6 months, making them available globally, including in remote territories, without any need to invest in additional cold-chain infrastructure.