'AstraZeneca will be vindicated', says Russian sovereign wealth chief

Kirill Dmitriev also predicted vaccine 'cocktails' may effectively fight against future mutations

A Russian medic holds a dose of Sputnik V vaccine. The UAE clinical trials into the Russian Sputnik V vaccine have moved into the final monitoring phase. EPA

The next step in the UAE trial involves monitoring volunteers’ immune response over 180 days. Bloomberg

In the UAE 1,000 trial volunteers have received their second dose.The vaccine is produced at Russia's biotech company Biocad in Strelna outside Saint Petersburg. AFP

Recent interim results from Phase III of clinical trials into the Sputnik V have shown a high efficacy of 91.6%. AFP

Sputnik V is developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in co-ordination with the Russian Defence Ministry. It is tested at Russia's biotechnology company Biocad in Strelna, outside Saint Petersburg. EPA

Kirill Dmitriev expects vaccines to be mixed in an attempt to boost dose numbers and tackle new strains. Sputnik / AFP

A vial of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine. Data published in The Lancet showed the vaccine is safe, and provides strong immunogenicity. Bloomberg

A health worker removes a box containing vials of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, and the Russian Direct Investment Fund. Bloomberg

Sputnik V was initially registered for use in Russia in August 2020, making it the first registered Covid-19 vaccine out of 165 being developed across the world. Bloomberg

The head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund has predicted the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be cleared for use soon.

Kirill Dmitriev also predicted the vaccines would be mixed with others in a 'cocktail' to tackle future mutations and strains.

Speaking at a World Economic Forum webinar for the International Media Council, he singled out the AstraZeneca vaccine as a potential pairing, saying he believes it is highly effective.

That was despite European countries halting the vaccine's use this week due to, as of yet, unproven claims about a link to blood clots.

"We believe that Sputnik can be paired with other vaccines. And we have an agreement like this with AstraZeneca, which by the way I believe is a good vaccine and i think it will be vindicated this week," he said.

It is these collaborations that will be important in fighting against mutations in the future, he said.

On the subject of bad press, he claimed that the Sputnik vaccine has become both a media and political phenomenon, gaining ample coverage in Europe.

"We already have 51 countries that have approved Sputnik. Our priority is the vaccination of people in Russia," he said.

"1.3 billion people live countries that have approved Sputnik so far. As of the end of this month we'll have 2.5 billion people living in countries where Sputnik is approved because we'll get it approved in India."

Russia has had success so far in getting up to 50 other countries to approve the vaccination. Millions of doses have already been sent to Latin America.

Many of these countries have no home-grown vaccine, but could produce Sputnik V if given the formula.

"We have five producers inside of Russia, we have made agreements with more than 10 countries and 20 companies to produce Sputnik," he said.

"From day one we focused on fighting Covid-19.

"We invested in a successful test. We invested in a successful drug. We will continue to be successful with it."