Russia OKs testing combination of Sputnik, AstraZeneca shots

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's health officials have given a go-ahead to testing a combination of the AstraZeneca coronavirus shot and the single-dose version of the domestically developed Sputnik V vaccine, according to the country's registry of approved clinical trials.

The small study, which was scheduled to start July 26 and end in March next year, will enroll 150 volunteers and look at the mixed regimen's safety and capability to trigger immune response, records show. It will be conducted in five medical facilities in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

AstraZeneca developed its vaccine with Oxford University. Sputnik V was developed by the state-run Gamaleya Center in Moscow, and the Russian Direct Investment Fund bankrolled the project. Both shots use a similar technology, employing a harmless virus to deliver genetic material from the spike protein of COVID-19 into the body, which then prompts an immune response.

Russian officials introduced Sputnik V last year as a two-shot vaccine using different viruses in each dose, but they also have separately marketed the first shot as a single-dose alternative dubbed Sputnik Light.

The developers of Sputnik V proposed combining the shots to AstraZeneca in November, suggesting it could increase the effectiveness of the British vaccine. AstraZeneca announced a study to test the combination in December.

In May, however, the ethical committee of Russia's Health Ministry suspended the process of giving the trial a green light and requested additional documents for review.

According to the official Twitter account of Sputnik V, the go-ahead by the ministry this week comes as similar trials are ongoing in Azerbaijan, Argentina and United Arab Emirates.

“More trials of Sputnik Light with other producers are also underway in different...