BEIJING, March 17. /TASS/. China has developed eight types of vaccines against the novel coronavirus. Some of them have already proven to be effective on animals, head of the Institute of Laboratory Animal Science of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Qin Chuan informed during a briefing on Tuesday.

"Currently, the Academy of Medical Sciences is estimating the effectiveness of eight vaccines. The effectiveness of some of them has been proven successfully," she said.

The specialist noted that animal testing is currently underway on transgenic mice and monkeys. Currently, experts are studying possible side effects of the vaccines. According to Qin Chuan, researchers are trying to single out the most effective drugs against pneumonia, also detecting the main ways of COVID-19 transmission.

Director of Science and Technology at China's Ministry of Education Lei Chaozi said during the briefing that China would soon begin clinical testing of the vaccines developed at the country’s leading universities. "The development of novel coronavirus vaccines is underway at Chinese universities. There is hope that we will soon begin clinical testing of some of them," he noted.

Neither expert has provided an estimated date of when clinical testing may begin.

Development of the vaccine

On February 21, China's Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Xu Nanping informed that China might be able to begin clinical testing of a COVID-19 vaccine no earlier than late April.

On March 5, head of the Institute of Laboratory Animal Science of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Qin Chuan informed that Chinese researches had begun animal testing of six types of vaccines against the novel coronavirus. The tests are carried out on transgenic mice and monkeys.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. On March 11, WHO officially characterized the situation with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic. The disease has spread to about 130 countries. According to official data, over 170,000 people have been infected with the virus globally, and over 6,000 have died. There are 93 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Russia.