MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. The vaccine EpiVacCorona will be able to protect the vaccinated at least for one year, the chief of the Yekaterinburg Research Institute of Viral Infections (an affiliate of the center Vector), Alexander Semyonov, said on Wednesday.

"One year, certainly. Theoretically, its effects should last two years. For the time being we are cautious about official forecasts, because too little time has passed. The first vaccinated patients received the shots just recently," Semyonov said on the Vesti FM radio station.

Semyonov recalled that strong enough immunity against the coronavirus was generated at the end of the 42nd day after the first shot of the vaccine. Throughout the six weeks following the first vaccination wearing medical masks is obligatory. Also, the vaccinated are recommended to wash hands more often than usual and keep the social distance, because contracting the infection is possible before the antibodies have been developed.

EpiVacCorona, developed at the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology Vector under the consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, was a second vaccine to have been certified in Russia. This happened on October 14, 2020. About one month later the developers were allowed to carry out post-registration research, including tests in aged people.