Two shots of Sputnik V accepted for international travel to Australia: TGA

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has recognized the two-dose course of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 as an acceptable form of coronavirus vaccination for travellers, an ANI report said.

“Today, the TGA determined that an additional COVID-19 vaccine, the two-dose course of the Gamaleya Institute vaccine (Sputnik V, Russian Federation) would be ‘recognized’ for the purpose of establishing a traveller’s vaccination status,” the TGA said in a Monday statement, ANI reported.

The regulator explained that additional data on the Russian vaccine’s effectiveness showed that two doses of Sputnik V demonstrated an average efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19 infection of 89 percent and against hospitalization or death of 98-100 percent.

“The single-dose course of the Gamaleya vaccine (‘Sputnik Light’) is not currently recognized by the TGA,” the Australian regulator specified.