Vietnam completes second shots of Nano Covax in 2nd-stage human trials
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./.