First shots of 75mcg dose of Nanocovax COVID-19 vaccine given to volunteers

A volunteer is given a shot of the 75mcg dose of Nanocovax on January 12 (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - The highest dose, 75mcg, of Nanocovax, aCOVID-19 vaccine developed by Vietnam, was given to three volunteers in Hanoion January 12 as part of the first stage of human trials.

The three women, aged 20 to 22, are the first of a total of 20volunteers in the testing programme.

Following their injection, the volunteers will undergo health monitoringfor 72 hours at the Hanoi-based Military Medical University. The other 17 volunteerswill receive injections if the vaccine’s safety is confirmed.

Two groups of 20 people each are testing the 25mcg and 50mcg doses,receiving their first injections on December 17 and 26, respectively.

Pain at the injection site and a light fever lasting 24 hours were the onlytwo issues reported by volunteers, according to Associate Professor Dr Chu VanMen, Director of the Military Medical University’s Centre for Clinical Trialsand Bioequivalence. All are now in a stable condition, he added.

The volunteers testing the 25mcg doses are scheduled to take theirsecond shot on January 15 or 16.

According to Men, this first clinical trial, which tests the vaccine’ssafety and identifies the optimal dosage, is 50 percent complete.

Vietnam expects to collect all necessary data on clinical testing by theend of 2021 before it can consider mass vaccination, he said.

Developed by the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC and the VietnamMilitary Medical University, Nanocovax is Vietnam’s first candidate vaccineagainst the novel coronavirus to reach the human trial stage.

Vietnam has several other COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed,by Vabiotech, Polyvac, and the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals./.

VNA