Russia Becomes First Country to Successfully Complete Human Trials for Coronavirus Vaccine
It has been over six months since the novel coronavirus outbreak has disrupted life all across the world. The virus has infected more than 13 million people and killed over 500,000 people worldwide. Meanwhile, Russia has become the first country to successfully finish human trials of coronavirus vaccine. Fortunately, the results of the clinical trials have proven the effectiveness of the medications.
Chief researcher Elena Smolyarchuk, who heads the Center for Clinical Research on Medications at Sechenov University, said that the human trials for the vaccine have been completed at the university and medication will be distributed soon.
According to Vadim Tarasov, the director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Biotechnology, the clinical trials of the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine on volunteers at Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University have been carried out efficiently and fruitfully. The first batch of volunteers would be discharged on July 15 and the second on July 20.
Tarasov said,
Sechenov University in a pandemic situation acted not only as an educational institution but also as a scientific and technological research center that is able to participate in the creation of such important and complex products as drugs. We worked with this vaccine, starting with preclinical studies and protocol development, and clinical trials are currently underway.
The coronavirus vaccine was produced by Russia’s Gamalei Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, and trials began on June 18.
According to Alexander Lukashev, the director of the Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases at Sechenov University, the goal of this stage of the study was to determine the vaccine’s safety for human health, which was conducted successfully.
Lukashev added that a further vaccine development plan is already being formulated by the developer’s strategy, including the complication of the epidemiological situation with the virus and the possibility of escalating the production.
While more than 7 million virus-infected people have recovered, worldwide, scientists and healthcare systems are working tirelessly to develop a potential vaccine to bring to the fore a full-proof cure for the novel coronavirus.
Source: Sechenov