Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam receives Nano Covax, Vietnam's own COVID-19 vaccine, on March 26 as part of the vaccine's second phase human trials. (Photo: vov.vn) Dam, 58, is the head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Preventionand Control, and Tac a science official. They both underwent medical check-upsbefore receiving the shot at the Vietnam Military Medical University in Hanoi.
After the inoculations, Dam and Tac remained at the injection room forfollow-up observation for 30 minutes, before he visited and thanked volunteerswho were at the university for the second jab in the trials during March25-April 6, as well as giving words of encouragement to the vaccine developers.
The volunteers were given the first jab between February 26 and March9.
Nano Covax, developed by HCM City-based biopharmaceutical company Nanogen, wasthe first vaccine made by Vietnamese scientists to enter clinical trials.
Dam expressed his pride and confidence in the scientists of Vietnam, addingthat in the future, the public will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccineshots for free in the framework of the National Expanded Programme onImmunisation.
He stressed that all agencies and people involved in the research anddevelopment of locally made vaccines must expedite the progress, but no cornersshould be cut.
Professor Do Quyet, Director of Military Medical University, said the resultsof the first phase trial showed Nano Covax is safe and enabling the body togenerate antibodies that can neutralise coronavirus, including the highlycontagious variant first reported in the UK (B117).
The second phase involves a larger number of volunteers (560 people between18-60 years old including people with some mild or early-stage chronicconditions) and the focus shifts to the effectiveness and immunogenicity of thevaccine, according to Quyet.
The volunteers are divided into four groups, 80 are injected with a placebo,and the rest are given different doses – 25mcg, 50mcg, and 75mcg to test dosagelevel.
After the end of the trials, the people given the placebo will be injected withthe real vaccines.
With the current progress, by the end of June-early July this year, scientistscan propose to the national committee for ethics in biomedical research toallow commence of phase 3 trials and greenlight experimental injections on awider scale, he continued.
According to the expert, WHO noted that the vaccine should be evaluated onwhether it could provide protection for the people in an environment withcommunity infections.
In the phase 3 trials, scientists will need to test the vaccine on 10,000people – 5,000 people to receive Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, and5,000 to receive Nano Covax shots – to compare the two vaccines’ side effects,immunogenicity and the ability to fight the virus.
With this approach, Quyet believes that by September this year, Vietnam couldhave its first commercial COVID-19 vaccine./.
VNA
