August 10, 2020: Russia’s all set to register COVID-19 vaccine on August 12, according to reports. The vaccine is being jointly developed by Gamaleya Research Institute and the Russian Defence Ministry.
This would be the first vaccine candidate against the novel coronavirus to get registered.
Russia’s Deputy Health Minister Oleg Gridnev on Saturday confirmed the development. “The vaccine developed by the Gamaleya centre will be registered on August 12. At the moment, the last, third, stage is underway.
Medical professionals and senior citizens will be the first to get vaccinated,” Gridnev had said. The country plans to begin mass production of the vaccine from October 2020.
This development comes days after the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Russian authorities to follow established guidelines for producing safe and effective vaccines. The warning came as Moscow moved swiftly to begin producing vaccine doses.
Gamaleya’s candidate is a so-called viral vector vaccine which is based on human adenovirus fused with SARS CoV-2’s spike protein to stimulate an immune response in the body. It is said to be similar to a vaccine candidate being developed by China’s CanSino Biologics.