Nano Covax COVID-19 vaccine (Photo: vneconomy.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – As many as 554 volunteers joining the second-stage human trials of home-grown Nano Covax COVID-19 vaccine got the second shots over the past 14 days.
Associate Prf., Dr. Chu Van Men, Director of the Military Medical University’s Centre for Clinical Trials and Bioequivalence, said on April 8 that among the volunteers, 278 received the jabs from the university, while 276 others in Ben Luc district, the Mekong Delta province of Long An, were vaccinated by HCM City-based Pasteur Institute.
After the injection, the volunteers exhibited symptoms such as light fever, injection site pain, muscle aches, joint pain and fatigue, which did not require medical intervention. They are now in stable conditions.
A preliminary report on testing results is scheduled to be issued this May.
The third phase of human trials is expected to cover 10,000 – 15,000 people in both Vietnam and other countries.
The first-stage trials of Nano Covax showed that the vaccinated volunteers have had antibodies against the UK variant (B117). Phase 2 focuses on seeking antibodies against the UK and South Africa variants, according to Men.
Navo Covax, developed by the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, is the first COVID-19 vaccine of Vietnam to be tested in clinical trials.
The country also has other COVID-19 candidate vaccines under development: IVAC from the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals, VABIOTECH from the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No 1, and POLYVAC from the Centre for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals.
Vietnam expects to have the first batch of locally-produced COVID-19 vaccines at the end of the third quarter of 2021./.
