The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund) announces the real world data of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus on the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine confirming its high efficacy during the vaccination campaign in the country.

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The Russian vaccine has demonstrated 97.2% efficacy against coronavirus in Belarus. The efficacy of Sputnik V was measured based on data from more than 860,000 people vaccinated between January and July 2021. The data from the Ministry of Health also confirms high safety of Sputnik V:

• No severe adverse events associated with vaccination
• No deaths related to the vaccination
• Belarus was the first foreign country to register Sputnik V and use it for the vaccination of the population

RDIF and partners have facilitated the technology transfer to localise the production of Sputnik V by Belarus's Belmedpreparaty company, which is successfully manufacturing Sputnik V. In April 2021 the vaccine was produced in Belarus was authorised by the Ministry of Health.

In April 2021 the single-dose Sputnik Light vaccine (the first component of Sputnik V based on human adenovirus serotype 26) was also registered in Belarus. Sputnik V has a number of key advantages:

1. The efficacy of Sputnik V is 97.6% based on the analysis of data on the coronavirus infection rate among those in Russia vaccinated with both components of Sputnik V from December 5, 2020, to March 31, 2021.
2. The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years.
3. Sputnik V has pioneered the use of heterogeneous boosting (two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination among COVID vaccines). This approach provides for immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.
4. The safety, efficacy and lack of negative long-term effects of adenoviral vaccines have been proven by more than 250 clinical studies over two decades.
5. There are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.