Russian Deputy Health Minister, Oleg Grinev, says a state laboratory vaccine for the novel Coronavirus is undergoing final testing phase, expected to be registered next week.
According to him, the vaccine is currently in its final testing phase.
“We need to understand that the vaccine will be safe,” he said in comments carried by the Russian news agency — Interfax.
Another senior health official had said in July that the vaccine was expected to be mass-produced in September.
Russia recorded the world’s fourth-largest coronavirus caseload, with more than 875,000 cases.
The vaccine was developed by the Russian state’s Gamaleya Research Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology, which announced two months ago that the vaccine had produced immunity in all test subjects without negative side effects.
The vaccine was initially tested on volunteers from the institute and then soldiers from the Russian military.
“There were no side effects or abnormalities detected among the volunteer soldiers,” Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.
“The research results clearly showed that all volunteers had a clear immune response resulting from the vaccination,’’ the Defence Ministry said.