State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasuman has confirmed that necessary approval has been granted by the National Medical Regulatory Authority of Sri Lanka for Emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund) informed that the vaccine had been approved earlier 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 and Bahrain.
According to the Russian Direct Investment Fund Sputnik V has a number of key advantages. It's Efficacy is 91.6% as confirmed by the data published in the Lancet, one of the world's oldest and most respected medical journals; it is one of only three vaccines in the world with efficacy of over 90%; Sputnik V provides full protection against severe cases of COVID-19.