The world's first registered COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, has now become the first jab to provide proven protection against the coronavirus for HIV-positive individuals, a new study, conducted jointly by the vaccine developer - the Gamaleya Research Centre of Epidemiology - and the Moscow City Centre for AIDS Prevention and Control, shows.
According to the study, published in the international medical journal The Lancet, Sputnik V retained 79% efficacy against COVID-19 in people with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). The research is based on a retrospective cohort study conducted using data on 24,000 HIV patients.
The vaccine also showed 90% efficacy in preventing hospitalisations with COVID-19 for these patients and it was 97% effective against the development of moderate or severe illness caused by the coronavirus in those with HIV.
"The study published in The Lancet suggests Sputnik V is the ultimate solution for vulnerable groups, including in high HIV-prevalence countries", the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which funded Sputnik's V development and production, said.
The study specified that HIV patients on ART with relatively high counts of T helper cells, which play an important role in detecting pathogens and adapting immune system response to them, received better protection from Sputnik V. Patients with T helper cell levels in blood above 350/µl experienced a 3.3-fold reduction of COVID-19 infections. Those with levels below 350/µl had their risk of suffering from COVID-19 reduced by 2.5 times, the study said. Counts below 200 are generally considered acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
The World Health Organisation's data suggests that 23% HIV-positive patients hospitalised with COVID-19 died from the disease, making them one of the most vulnerable groups in this pandemic.
Sputnik V was registered in August 2020 becoming the world's first COVID-19 vaccine with a proven efficacy of 97.6%. With the help of the RDIF, the vaccine was registered in 71 countries and exported globally. The two-shot jab also proved to be effective against all variants of the coronavirus, providing lasting protection against them. The Gamaleya Research Centre later released a one-shot variant of the vaccine, Sputnik Light, which can also serve as a booster jab for recipients of not only Sputnik V, but other vaccines as well, including foreign medications – such as the Astra-Zeneca vaccine.
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