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ABU DHABI: A company in the United Arab Emirates is nearing the end of phase 3 clinical trials of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine and expects to manufacture it next year, a representative said.
The trial, which started in mid-July, is a partnership between Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG) and Abu Dhabi-based cloud computing and artificial intelligence company Group 42 (G42).
The vaccine uses an inactivated virus, a well-known technology that has been used against diseases such as influenza and measles. Two doses are administered.
READ: China’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine looks safe: study
It has been administered to more than 31,000 people in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and Jordan, said G42 Healthcare CEO Ashish Koshy.
Analysis and publication of the results will take about two months, Koshy said.
He said that G42 has distribution and manufacturing agreements with Sinopharm and hopes to provide the vaccine to the United Arab Emirates and other regional states, especially those that participated in the trial.
The goal is to produce between 75 and 100 million doses next year in the UAE, he said.
READ: China in talks with WHO on evaluating its COVID-19 vaccines for global use
“The first results show that it is safe, there is a general increase in antibodies for all volunteers,” Koshy said. “In terms of effectiveness, it’s on the way, but only time will tell in terms of the big picture.”
Emirati volunteer Wo’oud al-Motawaa was vaccinated about two months ago and returned to the facility in the emirate of Abu Dhabi for one of her follow-up checks.
“I work in a hospital, so it’s something we want to help with,” he said. “We trust our country.”
G42 has said that the diversity of the UAE’s population is an advantage as it offers around 200 different nationalities. Koshy said about 125 nationalities have participated so far.
The United Arab Emirates, whose count stands at more than 101,000 infections and 435 deaths, has seen the number of new daily coronavirus cases rise in the past two months from 164 on August 3 to a high of 1,231 cases last week.
The UAE has a high per capita rate of COVID-19 testing, having performed more than 10 million tests on a population of around 9.9 million, the government statistics authority said.
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