Vietnam starts human trials of home-grown COVID-19 vaccine

Human trials began on Thursday for Nanocovax, Vietnam’s first home-grown COVID-19 vaccine, a director of a national medical research centre said.

“In the first phase, we will choose a group of 60 volunteers,” Ho Anh Son, deputy director of the Military Medical Research Institute, told dpa.

“This morning, we have finished vaccinating three people.

“They will be monitored for three days, and if they remain in good condition, we will continue to vaccinate the rest.”

The trial is the first of three phases of testing for the vaccine.

The second phase will involve testing on between 400 and 600 volunteers, according to the Health Ministry’s reports.

Researchers told local media that an independent monitoring organization will be hired to ensure the safety of volunteer participants and guarantee the scientific validity of results.

The Nanocovax vaccine, developed by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, is expected to cost around $5.

Mass production of the vaccine is forecast to commence in May 2021.

Vietnam has proven a global success story in its response to the coronavirus pandemic. Only 1,405 cases of infection have been reported, along with 35 deaths, in the country of 95 million people.

Source: GNA