Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University in Russia has successfully conducted and completed the clinical trial of the first novel coronavirus vaccine in the world.
Sputnik News reported Vadim Tarasov, the director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Biotechnology, confirming this news. The clinical trials of the vaccine were all produced by the Gamalei Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. The trials had started on 18th June 2020.
The Sechenov study is listed in ClinicalTrials.gov as a two-stage Phase I trial of the drug Gam-COVID-Vac Lyo. Vaccines typically take 10-25 years to hit the market, but given the massive spread of this virus, a faster remedy is the need of the hour. Russia itself has been working on 17 vaccines, apart from the many other trials across the globe.
In June, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said that mass vaccinations could begin in the Fall, although these would be voluntary.
The report mentioned how the two groups of volunteers for the coronavirus vaccine will be returning to their normal lives by this week. Citing the director of the Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical, and Vector-Borne Diseases at Sechenov University, Alexander Lukashev, the report mentioned that the study was done to determine the vaccine’s safety when administered on humans. Now that the trials have been successful, it means the vaccines already in the market are safe for use.
Gamalei’s director, Alexander Gintsburg said: “The vaccine is given twice with the same gene injected using different carriers, which allows to not just get protective immunity, but to acquire it for a longer period of time. This approach guarantees with great probability that a person getting this vaccine in the booster form will be protected from the coronavirus infection for at least two years, maybe even for a longer period of time.”
The manufacturers are focussing on amping up the production of this coronavirus vaccine, keeping in mind how fast it keeps mutating.
Tarasov mentioned that the Institute for Translational Medicine and Biotechnology has worked with preclinical studies, protocol development, and clinical trials of this vaccine. This guarantees the success of the vaccine further.
Apart from the Sechenov researchers, Oxford scientists too have put a vaccine in the trial phase. World Health Organization announced last month that the Oxford coronavirus vaccine is the most advanced one yet, and it would be rolled out as soon as it enters the third phase of clinical trials.
