Second human trials of Covid-19 vaccine expected to start this month

The human trial of Vietnam’s second Covid-19 vaccine is expected to begin this month, which is two months earlier than planned.

The Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC), based in the souther province of Khanh Hoa, has requested the Ministry of Health’s permission for the human trials of its Covid-19 vaccine this month.

The second made-in-Vietnam Covid-19 vaccine will be available in the market as soon as late 2021. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn

The IVAC said the request was made following the testing on animals like hamsters, mice, and rabbits, which has shown that the candidate vaccine is safe and creates high immune response.

If permitted, this will be the second Vietnamese vaccine in clinical trials on humans, after Nanocovax of the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, which started the first phase of human trials in mid-December 2020.

IVAC Director Duong Huu Thai said the institute’s research on a Covi-19 vaccine began in May, aiming to successfully produce a vaccine and complete three phases of clinical trials in 18 months.

The first phase will begin in January and conclude in April. If all three phases show good results, the vaccine will be mass produced in late 2021.

“Initial results are relatively good,” Mr. Thai said, noting that the first phase of testing will last for about two months and finish in April.

During the first phase, 125 volunteers divided into three groups will receive different doses.

The volunteers must be healthy people aged from 18 to 59 and who are free from any underlying condition. They also need to meet several other requirements.

Each volunteer will receive two shots with a 28-day interval.

The IVAC is set to coordinate with the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) and the Hanoi Medical University to conduct clinical trials.

Apart from the IVAC’s vaccine and Nanocovax, Vietnam also has some other Covid-19 candidate vaccines in development.

Vietnam on December 4 recorded 1,497 Covid-19 cases and 1,339 recoveries. The number of deaths related to the disease is still kept at 35.