Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is 92 per cent effective at protecting people from Covid-19 according to interim trial results, Reuters reported, quoting the country's sovereign wealth fund.

The initial results are only the second to be published from a late-stage human trial in the global race to produce a vaccine that could halt a pandemic that has killed more than 1.2 million people and ravaged the world economy.

The interim results are based on data from the first 16,000 trial participants to receive both shots of the two-dose vaccine, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which has been backing the vaccine and marketing it globally, said.

The so-called Phase III trial of the shot developed by the Gamaleya Institute is taking place in 29 clinics across Moscow and will involve 40,000 volunteers in total, with a quarter receiving a placebo shot.

That's well above the 50pc effectiveness threshold for Covid-19 vaccines set by the US Food and Drug Administration.