Sputnik V vaccine has 91.6% protection against symptomatic COVID-19, trial finds

According to the journal, The Lancet, there seem to be no serious effects from the two-dose jab apart from mild, flu-like symptoms and low-energy effects.

The results come from a trial involving over 20,000 volunteers, 75% of which were given the vaccine and the rest a placebo.

Out of the thousands of volunteers, those aged 60 or above had a 91.8% efficacy against coronavirus volunteers with symptoms.

Despite the controversy that the Russian vaccine was initially met with, after being rolled out before the completed trial data was released, scientists have now placed Sputnik V alongside other proven vaccines such as Pfizer and Janssen.

It is thought that the Sputnik V vaccine has currently been given regulated approval in 16 countries.

While Sputnik V offers a high percentage of protection, is relatively cheap per dose and can be stored as a liquid at normal refrigerated temperatures for at least two months, there are still a few question marks surrounding the vaccine.

The vaccine trial has only considered the impact on symptomatic cases of coronavirus and not asymptomatic cases. Moreover, the durability of the vaccine's efficacy has yet to be tested as volunteers of the trails were monitored for around 48 days after the first injection.