New Delhi: Apollo Hospitals and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories said Monday they are collaborating to initiate a Covid-19 vaccination programme in India with Sputnik V. The first phase of the programme kicked off Monday with vaccinations in Hyderabad. It will start in Visakhapatnam May 18 at Apollo facilities. The Sputnik V vaccinations would follow the SOPs as recommended by the government including registration on CoWIN.
Apollo Hospitals’ Joint MD Sangita Reddy said the healthcare major would receive 10 lakh doses of the COVID-19 vaccine over a period of one month.
“Delighted to share @HospitalsApollo has Ptnr with @drreddys 2 admin #SputnikV the 1st foreign-made #vaccine to be used in #India to all DRL staff. Additionally, we will be receiving 1 Mn doses (over 1 mth period ) 4 our public #vaccinationdrive as #IndiaFightsCOVID19,” Reddy tweeted.
For the pilot programme, Apollo would receive the Sputnik V vaccines from the first batch of 1.5 lakh doses imported by Dr Reddy’s so far.
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After Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, the pilot programme will be extended to Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, and Pune.
With the opening of the vaccination programme for the private sector, the healthcare major has intensified efforts to accelerate the rate of inoculation through opening vaccination centres across its hospital network, he added.
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories CEO – Branded Markets (India & Emerging Markets) MV Ramana noted that the two entities were working to scale up the pilot and take the vaccine to other cities with an aim to inoculate as many Indians as possible.
In August 2020, Russia became the world’s first country to register a coronavirus vaccine, dubbed as Sputnik V.