Panama’s COVID-19 vaccine Research Consortium head Dr. Eduardo Ortega-Barria Monday said during a briefing that a vaccination trial that would start in August.
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"There is a messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine program owned by a German company that is in phase two. That study is confirmed and should begin in August," Ortega-Barria announced.
Once phase one concludes, the experts would assess the immune response of the trial subjects.
The General Health Directorate, the Bioethics Committee, and other regulatory authorities in Panama must approve the vaccine for wide testing.
Panama health authorities also considered initiating other vaccine trials in October and another one in collaboration with Chinese and European pharmaceutical researchers using a recombinant protein.
Ortega-Barria stressed health personnel would receive the vaccine first, as they are most vulnerable and exposed to COVID-19. Elderly and under health conditions people would be prioritized on the process.
As of Tuesday, Panama registered 61,442 COVID-19 cases, 1,322 deaths, and 35,086 recoveries from the virus.