MANILA — The Philippines has approved the emergency use authorization of the one-jab COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia, officials said on Monday.

Regulators approved the emergency use authorization of the Sputnik Light vaccine last Friday, Food and Drug Administration chief Eric Domingo said in a text message to ABS-CBN News.

This will allow the country to follow up its order for 10 million doses, said vaccine "czar" Carlito Galvez.

"Sampung milyon na tao ang makikinabang nito ng full protection," he said in a press briefing.

(Ten million people will benefit from full protection from this vaccine.)

Sputnik Light is the ninth COVID-19 vaccine approved by the Philippines, along with vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, China's Sinovac and Sinopharm, and Russia's 2-dose Sputnik V.

Sputnik Light demonstrated 93.5 percent efficacy among 320,000 in Paraguay, with data taken from the South American country's vaccination campaign as of July 30, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said last week.

Developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, Sputnik Light had shown 79.4 percent efficacy when it was first authorized for use in May.

"The use of the single-component vaccine Sputnik Light allows the Paraguayan authorities to shorten vaccination periods for the population and speed up the formation of collective immunity," RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev said in a statement.

Mongolia and Kazakhstan have approved Sputnik Light, developed by Russia's Gamaleya Institute.

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— With reports from Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News; Reuters

Video courtesy of PTV