Ginzburg spoke about the features of the updated Sputnik vaccine.

New version of the vaccine againstSputnik V will protect against current CORONAVIRUS strains, Alexander Gintsburg, HEAD of the Gamaleya Center for Research and Development (GRC), told RBC.

"It will protect against the current covid-19 strains that are currently circulating around us, which cause moderate to severe illness, and sometimes even death," Gintsburg explained.

According to the center's DIRECTOR, antibodies previously produced using Sputnik V no longer protect against new variants of the coronavirus because the vaccine was originally made using the Wuhan strain.

The new vaccine is based on the currently circulating strain. "The antibodies previously produced using the original Sputnik V vaccine no longer protect us from new variants of the virus. Therefore, the current vaccine needs to be adapted to the new antigenic variant, which is not surprising. We've been doing this every year for the past 70 years, changing the antigenic composition of the flu vaccine," Gintsburg explained.

Sputnik Light will be the first vaccine to enter civilian circulation, followed by the two-component Sputnik V vaccine, and then the pediatric versions.

Ginzburg expressed hope that the single-component version will be released into civilian circulation by December 10, and the two-component vaccine will be released early next year.

He added that the updated vaccine will not be procured centrally, but through regions and large medical institutions. He emphasized that governors will now purchase Sputnik V using funds from the regional budget.

"Frankly, I don't know how much they'll buy. Although we'll be sending them the relevant information today," the scientist added.

At the end of October, Ginzburg announced that the original version of the Sputnik V vaccine had completely ceased to protect against the "Kraken" strain, meaning that it would have ceased to protect against the "Kraken" strain as of January 2023. "The vaccine's antigen composition should have been changed last summer," the head of the Gamaleya Center emphasized.

On November 9, Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova announced that coronavirus cases in Russia had doubled over the past month. She noted that this was due to holidays, vacations, and "a large number of migration activities." Popova added that ten cases of the new "Pirola" COVID-19 strain had been registered in Russia.