Russia’s Vector Launches Production of EpiVacCorona Vaccine against COVID-19

By Staff, Agencies

Russia's research center Vector has already launched production of its coronavirus vaccine EpiVacCorona, the head of the national public health watchdog, Anna Popova, said on Tuesday.

"Vector has started production of the vaccine", Popova said at a healthcare forum.

A certain number of EpiVacCorona doses will be produced by the end of the year, the official specified.

There are 10 technological platforms for developing vaccines against COVID-19 globally, Vector's deputy chief for scientific work Elena Gavrilova said at a healthcare forum.

"We use six technological platforms for developing vaccines against the novel coronavirus in our center", she added.

In the meantime, the national public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor said that volunteers with chronic health conditions will take part in the post-registration clinical trials of the EpiVacCorona vaccine against coronavirus.

"There are plans to conduct several independent post-registration trials: on volunteers aged above 18, both healthy and those suffering from chronic diseases; on a limited group of 3,000 people; on an expanded group of 40,000 people; on 150 people aged above 60; and on minors aged from 14-17", Rospotrebnadzor said.

The volunteers will be selected after the research center is authorized to conduct the post-registration clinical trials, the watchdog specified.

Russia has registered 16,550 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, down from yesterday's record-high 17,347, taking the cumulative total to 1,547,774, the country's coronavirus response center said earlier today.

In August, Russia became the first country in the world to register a vaccine against the coronavirus, dubbed Sputnik V and developed by the Gamaleya research institute. In mid-October, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the second vaccine, Vector's EpiVacCorona, had been registered.