China’s Sinovac coronavirus vaccine appears to be safe in its late-stage trial underway in Brazil. The Brazilian institute conducting the clinical trials has made the announcement. Russia’s coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, currently in its phase III trials, will share data from 10,000 volunteers around November.
Meanwhile, billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates has once again said that India’s research and manufacturing capabilities will be crucial to the global Covid-19 vaccine race.
Globally, 44 coronavirus vaccine candidates are in clinical trials, with another 154 in development, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
SINOVAC VACCINE TRIALS IN CHINA
A Brazilian institute that is conducting clinical trials of China’s Sinovac Biotech coronavirus candidate vaccine has said the antidote has shown positive results in the late stage of the trial. The Butantan Institute in Sao Paulo, one of Brazil’s leading biomedical research centers, which is conducting Phase III trials, said the two-dose vaccine, called CoronaVac, was shown to be safe in a trial that so far involved 9,000 volunteers.
Institute authorities have said there were no serious adverse reactions to the vaccine, with 20% of volunteers reporting mild pain from the injection, while 15% reported headaches after the first dose, dropping to 10%. for the second. Fewer than 5% reported nausea or tiredness, and even fewer had muscle aches.
BILL GATES PRAISES INDIA’S EFFORTS
Bill Gates has said that India’s research and manufacturing capabilities will be critical to fighting the coronavirus pandemic, especially to manufacture Covid-19 vaccines on a large scale. Bill Gates has called India “very inspiring” as it has made great strides in improving the health of its people over the past two decades.
Bill Gates, who addressed the 2020 Grand Challenges annual meeting together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said: “India’s research and manufacturing capacity is critical to combat Covid-19. Thank you Narendra Modi for speaking at today’s Grand Challenges meeting. “
FIRST RESULTS OF THE RUSSIAN VACCINE
Preliminary results from the late-stage human trial of Russia’s leading coronavirus vaccine candidate Sputnik V could include data from 5,000 to 10,000 participants, Denis Logunov, director of the Gamaleya Institute that developed the vaccine, said Monday.
Russia’s plan to release preliminary data on the Sputnik V jab in early November is likely to make it one of the first vaccine developers to share any data from an end-stage trial, known as Phase III, but it also puts it at odds with competitors. .
The Sputnik V trial, involving 40,000 volunteers, has been taking place in Moscow since the beginning of September.
MODERN VACCINE IN DECEMBER?
According to a Wall Street Journal report, the CEO of Moderna Inc has said he expects to have interim results for the company’s coronavirus vaccine candidate by November. Moderna’s CEO has also said that if the results are positive, the company could seek approval from the United States government for the emergency use of the Covid-19 antidote starting in December.
“This first analysis is likely to occur in November, but it is difficult to predict exactly in which week because it depends on the cases, the number of people who get sick,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said, according to the report.
NO VACCINES IN GREAT BRITAIN BEFORE SPRING
A coronavirus vaccine is unlikely to be in widespread use in Britain before next spring, the government’s top scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said on Monday as speculation about the government’s implementation plan mounted.
There is no proven vaccine against the coronavirus, and the development of one is seen as key to containing an outbreak that has resurfaced in Britain and elsewhere in recent weeks. “(It is) unlikely that we will have a vaccine for any kind of widespread use in the community, at least before the spring of next year,” Vallance told lawmakers.
(With input from Reuters)
