RDIF: The Sputnik V vaccine helps San Marino to become the first country in Europe to defeat COVID and reduce the infection rate to zero

MOSCOW, May 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund) announces positive results achieved by San Marino in the fight against coronavirus thanks to the Russian Sputnik V vaccine with infection rate having fallen to zero level. This has enabled the authorities to start lifting COVID restrictions, restore economic activity and return to normal life.

San Marino was able to roll out the most successful vaccination campaign in Europe thanks to Sputnik V: average 7-day infection rate per 1 mn people (May 3-9) is more than 40 times lower than that in the EU countries. Positive results of the vaccination campaign with Sputnik V were obtained only two months after it started with the median daily COVID cases dropping by 250 times from a highest point in early April to zero level and no cases of infection registered since May 4th.

In San Marino 74% of population of 16+ have been vaccinated with the first dose of a COVID vaccine whereas 90% of those vaccinations were conducted using  Sputnik V. Vaccination in San Marino has also helped to eliminate death cases caused by COVID. San Marino closed its hospital ward for treatment of patients infected with coronavirus.

The profound results prove Sputnik V's effectiveness against the British strain that is currently spreading across Europe, including in neighboring Italy.

RDIF is ready to provide additional batches of Sputnik V to San Marino to arrange vaccine tourism based on positive vaccination results in the country which demonstrated a sharp decrease of the infection rate to zero.

Post-vaccination studies in a number of countries, including Argentina, Mexico and Hungary, have demonstrated that Sputnik V is the safest and most effective vaccine against coronavirus. Sputnik V is registered in 64 countries around the world with total population of over 3.2 billion people. Sputnik V ranks second among coronavirus vaccines globally in terms of the number of approvals issued by government regulators.

Sputnik V has been approved in Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Republika Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Gabon, San-Marino, Ghana, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Guyana, Egypt, Honduras, Guatemala, Moldova, Slovakia, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Laos, Iraq, North Macedonia, Kenya, Morocco, Jordan, Namibia, Azerbaijan, Philippines, Cameroon, Seychelles, Mauritius, Vietnam, Antigua and Barbuda, Mali, Panama, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Turkey and Albania.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said:

"Daily statistics on the number of cases demonstrate that the successful vaccination campaign with Sputnik V allowed San Marino to reduce the level of coronavirus infection to zero and become one of the first European states to begin lifting coronavirus restrictions. The country is returning to normal life and restoring the economic activity. Based on the successful vaccination campaign RDIF is ready to provide additional supplies of the vaccine to arrange vaccination tourism.

San Marino's success in protecting its population was due to lack of political bias in decision making, including in its choice of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, approved for use in 64 countries.

Sputnik V has a number of key advantages:

• 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;
• 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.
• Sputnik V uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.
• 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.
• There are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.
• The storage temperature of Sputnik V at +2+8 C means it can be stored in a conventional refrigerator without any need to invest in additional cold-chain infrastructure.
• The price of Sputnik V is less than $10 per shot, making it affordable around the world.

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy. RDIF's management company is based in Moscow. Currently, RDIF has experience of the successful joint implementation of more than 80 projects with foreign partners totaling more than RUB2 tn and covering 95% of the regions of the Russian Federation. RDIF portfolio companies employ more than 800,000 people and generate revenues which equate to more than 6% of Russia's GDP. RDIF has established joint strategic partnerships with leading international co-investors from more than 18 countries that total more than $40 bn. Further information can be found at www.rdif.ru

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