Russian vaccine exports exceed $1bn in 2021
In the first ten months of 2021, Russia exported at least $1.2 billion of vaccines for humans, including the country’s domestically produced Sputnik V Covid-19 jab, Moscow daily RBK reported on Friday.
Citing data from the Federal Customs Service, the publication revealed that exports of Russian “other human vaccines,” the classification received by Sputnik V, had never previously exceeded $71 million, even in a full calendar year. In the first ten months of 2020, the Russian figure was just $46.5 million, considerably less than the 10-figure sum sold in 2021.
According to RBK, the number of vaccines sold is still growing, with exports amounting to $356 million in October, more than doubling September’s volume.
Although it is not known precisely how much Sputnik V has been sold, the sharp increase in exports correlates with the large-scale production of the jab and its growing acceptance around the world.
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Sputnik V was announced as the world’s first registered Covid-19 vaccine on August 11 last year. The jab has demonstrated 97.6% efficacy in a “real-world” study, according to data published by the Gamaleya Center, the body that developed it.
The Russian jab is currently registered in 71 different countries around the world and has become the primary Covid-19 vaccine in many of those nations. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which bankrolled its invention, has also signed production deals with many other countries, enabling it to be made abroad.
