MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. Russia’s leading institutes are pushing ahead with research into vaccines against the novel coronavirus and their efforts may produce a result by the end of this year, says the deputy director of the Health Ministry’s National Medical Research Center of Phthisiopulmonology and Infectious Diseases, Vladimir Chulanov.

"Will we see a vaccine by the end of the year? I am certain we will. Research is being fast-tracked in Russia and other countries at several leading research centers with vast experience of making vaccines. Different types of vaccines are being made and I’m almost certain that by the autumn there will be several prototypes. I believe that by that time the main laboratory tests will be over and, possibly, tests on volunteers, and we will be able to use these vaccines," Chulanov told the media on Friday.

He stressed that experts had not yet fully studied the new coronavirus and its properties and likely mutations. "With a high degree of probability it will have the same features as other coronaviruses, other RNA viruses, so the possibility of creating an effective vaccine [against the novel coronavirus] is quite realistic. The knowhow of making vaccines today has been considerably improved," he added.

Chulanov stressed that specialists were pushing along several lines of research into creating medications against the novel coronavirus. "Research is in progress into medications that help prevent grave forms of the coronavirus infection… Russian manufacturers are in the process of clinical research into such solutions. There is great demand for such medicines and I hope they will be registered soon and we will be able to use them in practice, thus preventing grave forms of the infection," he said.

Also, Russian specialists are working on anti-virus drugs, which are targeted against the virus itself. "Some drugs are in the research phase. I hope that in several months’ time we will have more or less detailed information about these products," Chulanov said.

To date, a total of 68,622 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 5,568 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 615 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.