Moscow, 16th July 2020: Russia plans to produce millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine domestically this year.
According to the reports from Reuters, Russia plans to produce 30 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine domestically this year, with the potential to manufacture a further 170 million abroad.
The head of the country’s sovereign wealth fund told Reuters that the first human trial of the vaccine, a month-long test on 38 people, ended this week. Researchers concluded that it is safe for use and induces an immune response, though the strength of that response is as yet unclear.
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A larger Phase III trial involving several thousand people is expected to begin in August, said Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) head, Kirill Dmitriev.
“We believe that based on the current results it will be approved in Russia in August and in some other countries in September…, making it possibly the first vaccine to be approved in the world,” he said in an interview.
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More than 100 possible vaccines are being developed to try to stop the pandemic. At least two are in final Phase III human trials, according to World Health Organization data – one being developed by China’s Sinopharm and the other by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.
Dmitriev said the Russian Phase III trial will be conducted in Russia and in two Middle Eastern countries and will begin after a 100-person Phase II trial wraps up on Aug. 3.
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“There’s a general sense that for so-called herd immunity in Russia you need to vaccinate between 40 million and 50 million people,” he told Reuters.
“So we believe we will be in good shape producing around 30 million (doses domestically) this year and then we can finalize vaccination next year.”
Russia had also struck manufacturing deals with five other countries and could be producing up to 170 million doses abroad this year, Dmitriev said.
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