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 The slimmed-down vaccine will be tested on 150 people in Moscow and
St Petersburg, a government clinical trials register showed.
According to authorities, over a million Russians have so far been
inoculated with the original two-dose version of Sputnik V, named
after the Soviet-era satellite that triggered the space race in a
nod to the project's geopolitical importance for Moscow.
The two-dose vaccine will remain the main version used in Russia,
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, which
is responsible for marketing Sputnik V abroad, said on Monday.
The one-dose version could, however, be used for export.
"'Sputnik-Light' can serve as an effective temporary solution for
many countries, which are experiencing a peak of coronavirus
infection," Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF),
which is covering the costs of the Sputnik-Light trial, said.
Several governments are considering ways to stretch scarce supplies
of COVID-19 vaccines, including by delaying second doses and
reducing dose sizes.
The aim is to maximise the number of people who have at least
partial immunity, thereby potentially reducing the number of severe
cases and lessening the burden on healthcare systems.
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The two Sputnik doses are delivered using different inactive
viruses, known as vectors, and some Russian manufacturers are
finding the second less stable to produce, leading to a surplus of
the first component.
Last month, Russia shipped 300,000 vials of the Sputnik V vaccine to
Argentina, its first major international vaccine delivery. The
shipment was made up only of the first component, drawn from this
surplus batch, Reuters reported.
President Vladimir Putin has said the single dose will provide less
protection than the two doses but "will still reach 85%".
The Gamaleya Institute that developed the vaccine says it is more
than 91% effective after the two-dose course.
Gamaleya Institute director Alexander Gintsburg has said that
protective immunity after just the first shot of Sputnik V lasts
around 3-4 months, the TASS news agency reported.
(Reporting by Polina Ivanova and Tom Balmforth; Writing by Polina
Ivanova; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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