The first stage of testing of a Russian vaccine against the novel coronavirus developed at the N. F. Gamaleya Federal Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology went successfully, and the second stage will conclude on August 3, 2020, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said during an online press conference on Thursday.

“Yesterday, the first stage of clinical testing of a Russian vaccine ended <…>, it went very successfully. The second stage of testing of the Russian vaccine will conclude on August 3,” he said.

Phase two of trials for a Russian-made coronavirus vaccine will end on August 3, to be immediately followed by a third, international phase. If successful, it could be the first effective Covid-19 solution to be mass-produced.

According to the RDIF, Russia will produce about 30 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2020, with the required amount of 50 mln doses. The full vaccination of Russians may be complete by early 2021.

Globally, about 200 mln doses of vaccines are expected to be produced by the end of 2020.

“According to predictions, next year, about 3 bln vaccines based on the adenovirus vector will be produced: not only the Russian vaccine, but the Oxford University vaccine and the Chinese vaccine as well,” Dmitriev added.

The vaccine, which has been developed by Moscow’s Gamalei Institute of Epidemiology in conjunction with the Ministry of Defense, will soon begin clinical trials abroad.

“The third phase will not only take place in Russia, but also in a number of other countries,” Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), told reporters during an online press conference.

“We expect to receive regulatory approval to start using the Russian vaccine in August-September.”

Dmitriev also explained that Russia plans to produce 30 million doses of the vaccine domestically in 2020, with a potential 170 million more made abroad. The RDIF is currently in negotiations with Saudi Arabia to increase production capacity.

Speaking to Reuters, the RDIF head called the homegrown Russian product “possibly the first vaccine to be approved in the world.”

On July 15, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced that, after 28 days of study, no vaccine trials had experienced “serious adverse side effects, health complaints, complications or adverse reactions.”

Header: MOSCOW, RUSSIA – JUNE 1, 2020: Medical workers in an intensive care unit at a temporary medical facility established for COVID-19 patients at Moscow City Clinical Hospital No 15 (Filatov Hospital). Sergei Bobylev/TASS

Source: TASS, RT