Russian scientists have received strains of the coronavirus from Australia and Thailand to assess the effectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19 that are currently being tested on animals, Rinat Maksyutov, the director general of the Vector State Research Center for Virology and Biotechnology, said on Saturday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th April, 2020) Russian scientists have received strains of the coronavirus from Australia and Thailand to assess the effectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19 that are currently being tested on animals, Rinat Maksyutov, the director general of the Vector State Research Center for Virology and Biotechnology, said on Saturday.
"Several countries provided them [live strains of COVID-19], primarily Australia and Thailand. We received the virus in late February," Maksyutov stated during a broadcast aired on the Rossiya 1 television channel.
According to the Vector director general, a live strain of the virus is needed for the development of vaccines, as it is necessary to study its genome. Maksyutov stated that Russian scientists are working on 26 different variants of a possible vaccine.
"All of them will be subject to laboratory testing. The most effective variants will then be subject to preclinical trials before clinical trials in humans will take place," he said.
Maksyutov added that Russian scientists have begun testing vaccines against COVID-19 on animals, and these tests are scheduled to be completed by the end of April.
"We expect to complete animal tests in our laboratories by the end of April, and after that, we can proceed to the preclinical research stage," the director general said.
He added that if the tests prove successful, clinical trials on humans could begin in July, pending the Russian Ministry of Health's approval.
"We are relying on this [starting human trials in July], but for this to happen, we must demonstrate the effectiveness of the vaccine in laboratory tests. The second issue, and the most important, is getting approval from the Ministry of Health to conduct the first phase of clinical trials," Maksyutov remarked.
Speaking in turn during the televised broadcast, Chief Public Health Official Anna Popova said that clinical trials on humans could only be conducted once any vaccine has been proven to be both effective and safe. She added that the best variant of the vaccine will be chosen, noting that clinical testing will be rigorous.
Scientists across the globe are conducting efforts to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus disease, which has already killed more than 56,000 people worldwide according to the World Health Organization.
