The United Arab Emirates (UAE), has approved Sputnik Light vaccine as a universal booster shot for all the vaccines against coronavirus that are used in the country.

Booster dose is available to all residents aged 18+ and can be applied six months after the second dose of any other vaccine administered in UAE.

Sputnik Light vaccine is based on human adenovirus serotype 26 which is the first component of the Sputnik V vaccine. The one-shot vaccine was authorized in UAE in October 2021.

In January 2021 UAE’s regulatory authorities also authorized the two-dose Sputnik V. Both Sputnik Light and Sputnik V vaccines have been approved by the UAE ministry of Health under the emergency use authorization procedure.

One-shot Sputnik Light is a highly effective vaccine when used both on standalone basis and applied as a booster. The latest findings by the Gamaleya Centre is based on data from 28,000 subjects in Moscow. It demonstrated Sputnik Light vaccine administered standalone has 70% efficacy against infection from the Delta variant of coronavirus during the first three months after vaccination. The vaccine is 75% effective among subjects under the age of 60.

Efficacy of one-shot Sputnik Light as a booster against Delta variant for other vaccines will be close to the efficacy against the Delta variant of the Sputnik V vaccine: over 83% against infection and over 94% against hospitalization.