A group of Russian scientists developing the coronavirus vaccine said they may be ready to conduct stage three of trials on a small group of people as early as next month.
As per a Reuters report, Russia’s Sechenov University said on Sunday that it had completed clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the state-run Gamalei Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.
According to the head and chief researcher at Sechenov University Center for Clinical Research on Medications Elena Smolyarchuk, data of trials on the vaccine showed effectiveness on the candidates.
"Around 14-15 August, I hope, the small amount of vaccine that we should be able to produce will enter public circulation," Alexander Ginsburg, the institute's director said.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization’s protocols said a vaccine has to go through three phases of studies before being approved for large-scale production.
Among the 19 experimental COVID-19 vaccines conducting human trials, only two are in final Phase III trials—China's Sinopharm and another by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. China's Sinovac Biotech is set to become the third later this month.
Till date, no vaccine has been approved for large-scale use without undergoing the third phase of testing, which is the largest in terms of the number of participants. A candidate vaccine usually undergoes industrial production only if the last phase shows definitive evidence of its safety and efficacy.
According to The Moscow Times report, earlier in July, the researchers at Sechenov University said that some participants developed typical responses to injections like headaches, elevated body temperatures, that abated in 24 hours.
As per a July 3 press release by the university, the Russian health ministry will decide on the effectiveness of the substance based on the results of biochemical tests.
