MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. One of the developers of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine "Sputnik V" is ready to submit a draft research project on holding clinical trials of the vaccine among children to the Russian Health Ministry. This can happen in a month, after the ministry analyzes the outcomes of the trials held among the elderly, head of the Gamaleya Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology Alexander Ginzburg told TASS.

"As soon as they (the Health Ministry - TASS) submit the data on seniors, after this, I hope in about two-three weeks, maybe in a month, I am ready to submit a draft research project on testing this vaccine among children," he said.

The researcher noted that the trials among children would likely to be split in three groups depending on the age.

Earlier, Ginzburg informed that trials among children might start in May-June 2021.

Russia registered the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world under the name of Sputnik V on August 11. The vaccine was developed by the Gamaleya Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology. Post-registration testing of the vaccine began in Moscow on September 7, with first volunteers getting the first vaccine shot on September 9. Overall, the trials should have included 40,000 people, with 10,000 receiving a placebo dose instead of the vaccine. However, the Russian Health Ministry decided to stop vaccinating volunteers after some 31,000 people had taken part in the trials.