A Chinese-made coronavirus vaccine reached the final stage of development in Brazil on Tuesday, after volunteers obtained the first samples of what authorities’ claim would be a game-changer in fighting the global pandemic. The vaccine, developed by private Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech, is the third largest in the world to reach clinical trials in Phase 3, or large-scale human testing—the final phase until regulatory clearance.
“We’re living in interesting and exciting times and that’s why I decided to be part of this experiment,” said the 27-year-old doctor at Sao Paulo Clinical Hospital who got the first dose.
Her identity has been omitted regardless of secrecy. In the next three months under the project, about 9,000 health staff in six Brazilian states will obtain the vaccination, branded as CoronaVac, in two dosages.
Governor of Sao Paulo Joao Doria said provisional tests were due in 90 days from Monday.
Sinovac is collaborating on the trials with the Butantan Institute, a Brazilian public health study center.
According to officials, the institute would have the ability to manufacture 120 million doses under the contract if the vaccine is safe and successful. Brazil, after the United States, is the second hardest-hit nation in the coronavirus pandemic. The death toll reached 80,000 Tuesday, and 2.1 million infections have been reported.
Since the influenza often travels easily in the nation of South America, it is regarded as perfect training site for applicants for vaccinations.
Brazil is now aiding in Phase 3 trials of another new vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company. It has a similar agreement to develop the vaccine domestically if it is effective in research the is already being undertaken in Britain and South Africa.
Brazilian health regulators reported that they have also approved Phase 1, 2 and 3 trials of two more vaccines, produced by US firm Pfizer and Biotech from Germany. Researchers across the globe are working to produce and study a viral vaccine. So far, there are over 150 initiatives.
Tests released Monday in the British medical journal The Lancet showed that two vaccine candidates were healthy and created an immune response in Phase 2 studies: The Oxford vaccine and another Chinese-made vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics and the Beijing Biotechnology Institute.