First domestic COVID-19 vaccine may be approved for emergency use

On Thursday afternoon, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science and Technology convened a meeting to review and evaluate the outcomes of clinical trials of Nanocovax produced by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC (Nanogen) based on recombinant DNA/protein technology.

Based on the evaluation outcomes, the vaccine may be approved for emergency use in the country.

The third and final phase of Nanocovax’s human trails began on June 11 with the participation of 13,000 volunteers split into two groups: one injected with the 25 mcg doses and the other receiving placebos.

Nanocovax is currently the most promising candidate among four domestic vaccines being developed by Viet Nam. The others are being developed by the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals, the Vaccine and Biological Production Company No. 1, and the Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals.

Viet Nam has approved six COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use, namely Janssen, Moderna, Sputnik V, Pfizer, Sinopharm , and  AstraZeneca.

The Government of Viet Nam is making every effort to secure at least 150 million vaccine doses to cover 70% of the population.

So far, Viet Nam has received more than 8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from other countries and partners, including 4.5 million doses through the COVAX Facility, 2 million doses donated by the United States, 3 million doses from Japan, 500.000 doses by China and 1.000 doses donated by the Russian Federation.

By Quang Minh