36 volunteers injected with 2nd Vietnam homegrown Covid-19 vaccine

36 volunteers participating in the first phase of human trials of Covivac, the second Vietnam homegrown Covid-19 vaccine received the first jab. Other 30 people are expected to get vaccinated this week.

Malie Nguyen

Dieuhuong270198@gmail.com April 01, 2021 | 08:24

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Talking to VnExpress on March 30 afternoon, Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Dinh Them, Director of the Center for Clinical Trials under the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said that after administration, volunteers are in stable health conditions. Some people experience mild reactions such as pain at the injection site, headache, muscle pain, fatigue within one day.

On two days of March 31 and April 2, the other 30 volunteers are expected to receive the Covivac vaccine.

A volunteer receives the Covivac vaccine. Photo: Vnexpress

Covivac, produced by the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC), entered its first phase of the human trials in late January. A total of 120 volunteers participate in the clinical trial. They are randomly injected with the vaccine or placebo. After inoculation, volunteers are required to stay at the vaccination site for 24 hours for further health monitoring.

Each volunteer is given two shots, each 28 days apart.

Volunteers will receive health checks eight days after the injections, with researchers monitoring them over the phone and doing further checks throughout the trials to evaluate the vaccine’s immunogenicity.

The mid-term report of the first phase is expected to be completed in July.

Nguyen Ngo Quang, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Health’s Administration of Science Technology and Training, said the total insurance cover for the volunteers is around VND 40 billion ($1.7 million).

Through pre-clinical assessments conducted in India, the U.S, and Vietnam, the Covivac vaccine has recorded a strong immunological effect on laboratory animals and has so far proved to be safe.

Photo: VTC News

The Covivac vaccine was also proved to be effective against the new SARS-CoV strain detected in both the UK and South Africa.

The IVAC plans to offer the Covivac vaccine at a price of VND 60,000 ($2.6) per dose.

Meanwhile, the first made-in-Vietnam Covid-19 vaccine Nanocovax by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC entered its second phase of human trials with the participation of 560 volunteers including more than 100 people over 60 years old in Hanoi and Long An’s Ben Luc District.

Associate Professor, Dr. Chu Van Men, Director of the Center for Clinical Trial and Bioequivalence under the Vietnam Military Medical University said 90 people in Hanoi and more than 100 people in Long An received the second dose. The injections are expected to be completed on April 6.

Volunteers receiving the second shot are in stable health condition. Several people display reactions such as mild fever, muscle pain and pain at the injection site. Doctors are closely monitoring their health.

Vietnam has two other COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed, which are VABIOTECH by the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No 1, and POLYVAC by the Centre for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals.

Vietnam launched its inoculation campaign on March 8. According to the National Expanded Immunization Programme as of March 30, an additional 1,840 people across nine provinces and cities, had been vaccinated, bringing the overall number of vaccinated people nationwide to 48,256.

The prioritized groups receiving the vaccine are medical workers directly treating Covid-19 patients, those involve in taking samples, testing, contact tracing, members of Covid-19 community groups, and members of the Steering Committees for disease prevention and control.

The country recorded no new COVID-19 cases in the past 12 hours to 6 pm on March 30, keeping the total number of infections in the country at 2,594, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said.

Of the total, 1,603 are domestically-transmitted cases, including 910 infections since the third wave of outbreaks hit the country on January 27.

The MoH's Medical Service Administration reported that 51 more patients have been given the all-clear from coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, raising the total number of recoveries to 2,359.

The death toll from the disease was still kept at 35, the administration said.

Among active patients undergoing treatment at medical establishments across the country, 18 tested negative to the virus once, 15 twice, and 37 thrice.

As many as 46,454 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients or entered Vietnam from pandemic regions are being quarantined nationwide, including 506 in hospitals, 19,379 in state-designated establishments, and 26,569 at their residences.

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