Made-in-Vietnam coronavirus vaccines might be used widely in May 2021, according to a local health expert.
| Made-in-Vietnam Nano Covax vaccine. Photo: VNExpress |
Dr Nguyen Ngo Quang, deputy head of the Ministry of Health’s Administration of Science Technology and Training, said Vietnam’s vaccine production technologies are updated to produce safe products.
“We ensure that scientific research is in line with the good clinical practice (GCP) by the World Health Organization (WHO). The results will serve domestic vaccination and international reports,” Quang said at a conference held in Hanoi this week.
Prof. Hoang Van Luong, deputy director of Military Medical University, said Nanocovax’s first stage have shown good results for all 25mcg, 50mcg and 75mcg, equal to overseas vaccines.
Nanocovax, produced by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC is expected to begin the second one this month while Covivac of the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals is expected to commence human trials this month as well.
Vietnam is developing four domestic Covid-19 vaccines by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC), the Vaccine and Biological Production Company No.1 and the Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals.
So far, roughly 1,000 people have registered for the second trial of Nanocovax. The Ministry of Health's Independent Ethics Committee considers to choose volunteers of more than 65 years old who carry some underlying diseases like hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, among others.
The third human trial for Nanocovax, scheduled to take place in May, is expected on 10,000-15,000 people.
Regarding the production capacity, Quang said Nanogen is capable of producing 70 million doses per year while IVAC is able to develop 30 million doses/year.
Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said at an online meeting on February 19 that Vietnam will likely get 60 million doses of vaccines in 2021, including half from the WHO-led COVAX Facility vaccine-sharing program and half supplied by AstraZeneca.
Vietnam needs approximately 150 million doses for its people, Long said.
