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Russian scientists in Novosibirsk developing two novel coronavirus vaccines

The vaccines will be tested in June

NOVOSIBIRSK, January 27. /TASS/. Two experimental vaccines for novel coronavirus that are being developed by scientists at Russian Novosibirsk’s State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR will be tested in June, the Nauka v Sibiri journal of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Siberian branch reports.

"We are developing two vaccines, their prototypes should undergo first tests in June," the article says citing the center’s General Director Rinat Maksyutov.

According to him, VECTOR has already created two diagnostic sets for novel coronavirus.

On December 31, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of an unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhah - a large trade and industrial center in central China populated by 11 million people. On January 7, Chinese experts identified the infecting agent - coronavirus 2019-nCoV.

Currently, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in China exceeded 2,700 with 80 deaths reported. The new type of coronavirus has already been identified in almost all Chinese provinces including Beijing and Shanghai as well as in other countries - Australia, Malaysia, Nepal, France, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore, the United States and Japan. The WHO recognized the pneumonia outbreak in China as a national emergency but stopped short of declaring an international one.