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Coronavirus pandemic

All Belarusian participants in trials of Russian COVID-19 vaccine receive first injection

According to the Health Ministry, all volunteers will remain under observation for 180 days following the first injection and experts will study the effectiveness, immunogenic properties and safety of the vaccine

MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. All Belarusian participants in the post-registration trials of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine received the first injection, and 11 volunteers got the second injection, the Russian Health Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"The first phase of double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials of the Sputnik V (Gam-Covid-Vac) vaccine was completed in Belarus on October 29, 2020, as 100 people received the first component of the vaccine. Eleven participants received the second component as of October 29," the statement reads.

According to the Health Ministry, all volunteers will remain under observation for 180 days following the first injection and experts will study the effectiveness, immunogenic properties and safety of the vaccine.

"Russia and Belarus share a common approach to the pattern of research, which will ensure the comparability of data received in the two countries, paving the way for a decision on the possibility of the further vaccine registration process in Belarus," the statement added.

Belarus was the first country to launch clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine, they will take place at eight medical facilities.

On August 11, Russia became the first country to register a coronavirus vaccine, which was named Sputnik V. The vaccine was developed by the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and underwent clinical trials in June and July.

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