MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. Post-registration trials of a vaccine against the coronavirus developed by the Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology will begin in November-December, the press service of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing told TASS on Friday.
"Post-registration clinical trials of the EpiVacCorona vaccine with participation of 5,000 volunteers will begin after the first batch of preparation is obtained, that is, in November-December 2020. The duration of these trials is six months," the press service said.
Trials will begin in the Siberian region on 5,000 volunteers aged 18-60, and then will continue in other regions. The list of institutions participating at this stage is now being formed.
The sanitary watchdog’s press service added that the first batch of the vaccine of 10,000 doses is planned to be released at the end of October. General population will obtain access to the vaccine after its mass production is launched. "Deliveries of the EpiVacCorona vaccine for post-registration trials will begin after its registration and the release of the first post-registration batch," the agency specified.
The Vector Research Center on July 24 obtained the Healthcare Ministry’s permit to conduct clinical trials of its vaccine on volunteers. The first volunteer was inoculated on July 27. The final group of 20 volunteers was discharged from an inpatient facility on September 8. Top sanitary physician Anna Popova also reported that clinical trials of the vaccine were completed on September 30. The registration procedure of the vaccine is planned to be completed by October 15.