Russia

Russia's Vector Launches Production of EpiVacCorona Vaccine Against COVID-19, Watchdog Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's research centre Vector has already launched production of its coronavirus vaccine EpiVacCorona, the head of the national public health watchdog, Anna Popova, said on Tuesday.
Sputnik

"Vector has started production of the [COVID-19] vaccine", Popova said at a healthcare forum.

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

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

"We use six technological platforms for developing vaccines against the new coronavirus in our centre", 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 (both healthy and suffering chronic illness) aged more than 18; 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 to 17", Rospotrebnadzor said.

The volunteers will be selected after the research centre is authorised to conduct the post-registration clinical trials, the watchdog said.

There have been another 16,550 cases of COVID-19 in Russia in the past 24 hours, down from yesterday's record 17,347. This means the total number of cases has reached 1,547,774, according to the country's coronavirus response centre 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, Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced that the second vaccine, Vector's EpiVacCorona, had been registered.

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