Deputy PM gets second shot of homegrown COVID-19 vaccine

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Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam gets the second shot of made-in-Vietnam NanoCovax COVID-19 vaccine. Photo: VOV

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, on March 26 received the second shot of made-in-Vietnam NanoCovax vaccine, which is on the second trial phase.

After the injection, the official waited 30 minutes for medical monitoring and then talked to other volunteers, expressing his trust in those engaging in NanoCovax research and trials.

NanoCovax, developed by the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Company, is Vietnam’s first candidate vaccine to reach the human trial stage.

The Military Medical University on March 25 began giving the second shots of the NanoCovax in the second trial phase to volunteers, who had received the first jabs between February 26 and March 10.

A total of 560 volunteers, including those with mild background ailments such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular issues, are participating in this phase.

According to Associate Prof. Dr. Chu Van Men, Director of the Military Medical University’s Centre for Clinical Trials and Bioequivalence, after receiving the first jabs, volunteers displayed symptoms such as pain at the injection point, a light fever, muscle aches, joint pain, and fatigue, but did not require medical intervention.

The second trial phase is being organised simultaneously at the Hanoi-based Military Medical University and the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City.

NanoCovax, developed by the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Company, is Vietnam’s first candidate vaccine to reach the human trial stage. Photo: VnExpress

Do Quyet, Director of the Military Medical University, said that after the second shot, the safety and efficacy of antibody generation and its antiviral ability will be re-assessed. These criteria were met after the first shot, he said.

The Nanocovax vaccine is effective against the U.K variant, he added.

The administration of the second jabs of this phase is expected to be completed at the end of April, according to Quyet.

At the current progress, scientists would be able to submit the preliminary test results to the National Council for Ethics in Biomedical Research in late June or early July for the approval of the third phase of trial on a larger scale, he continued.

The third phase will involve some 10,000 people with half of them given shots of AstraZeneca vaccine and the remainder receiving NanoCovax, he said, adding that it will help compare the side effect and effectiveness of the two types of vaccine.

Quyet expressed his belief that with the method, Vietnam would be able to produce its own COVID-19 vaccine in September./.

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