HANOI – Vietnam has kick-started clinical trials of Covivac – Vietnam’s second Covid-19 vaccine candidate which was developed based on the new highly-infectious coronavirus variants – in a ceremony at the Hanoi Medical University on January 21.
According to Vietnam News Agency (VNA), the home-grown vaccine has been developed by the Nha Trang-based Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC) and the Hanoi Medical University since last May, using primary chicken embryo cell culture, a technique the institute used previously to successfully produce seasonal flu vaccines.
Covivac has undergone pre-clinical trials in India, the US, and Vietnam, VNA quoted IVAC Director Dr Duong Huu Thai said. He added that the results showed that it satisfies all conditions to be tested on humans.
The vaccine candidate demonstrated high immunogenicity during pre-clinical trials. It was created based on studies of new Sars-CoV-2 strains, according to Dr Pham Van Tac, Director of the Health Ministry’s Administration of Science Technology and Training.
VNA reported that there will be two phases in the trial, with the first conducted on five groups of volunteers totalling 120 people. Each group will be given two shots 28 days apart, with doses of either 1mcg, 3mcg, or 10mcg.
The volunteers, aged 18 to 59, have been recruited by the research team.
The first shot is scheduled to be injected at the Hanoi Medical University in February. – Bernama, January 22, 2021
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