MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th July, 2020) The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russian State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology Vector does not contain a biological agent, therefore the number of negative reactions caused by its use is minimal, Anna Popova, the head of the Russian public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Rospotrebnadzor said that clinical trials of the vaccine at Vector research center began on five volunteers, adding that the first was vaccinated on Monday and was doing well. The next volunteer will be receiving the vaccine with an interval of 72 hours, the watchdog added.
"The vaccine differs from all similar ones, because it is peptide, which means it does not carry a biological agent in any part and, therefore, is absolutely areactogenic," Popova said at a virtual symposium devoted to the impact of the COVID-19 and HIV pandemic on achieving the sustainable development goal.
In late June, Vector Director General Rinat Maksyutov told Sputnik that the first stage of the clinical studies would be completed in September, adding that then registration of the vaccine will start, if it is proven safe and highly immunogenic. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, in turn, has praised Vector as a leader in coronavirus vaccine creation.
