Sputnik Light May Become Universal Booster Shot as China Approves Mix&Match COVID Vaccination

The mix&match approach to coronavirus vaccination was pioneered by the makers of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine and has proven its effectiveness in creating a stronger and more durable immunity, including against the Omicron variant.

Russia's Sputnik Light vaccine can become a major booster for those vaccinated with inactivated Chinese COVID vaccines globally after China has officially recommended a mix & match approach with adenoviral vector-based vaccines as boosters.

Vaccines produced by Chinese companies (Sinovac and Sinopharm) are widely used, with over 4.7 billion doses supplied in China and worldwide. While China’s State Council has authorised the mix & match boosting only with domestic vaccines, 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.

A study conducted in Argentina says that a Sputnik Light combination with other vaccines showed that the antibody and T-cells response elicited by Sputnik Light as a booster to inactivated Sinopharm vaccine is 10x higher than it is for two shots of Sinopharm. According to the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, which pioneered the mix&match approach to coronavirus vaccination, the use of Sputnik Light in combination with all other vaccines has demonstrated a high safety profile with no serious adverse effects.

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 a stronger and longer-lasting immune response against COVID (including the Omicron variant) than many other vaccines, which is further strengthened by the Sputnik Light booster.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the main investor in the development of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus, was established in 2011 as the country's sovereign wealth fund to make equity co-investments.