Russia: COVID Vaccine to Be Ready by June, Experts Say

Russian epidemiologists affirmed on May 25 that a national  vaccination against COVID could start on 2020’s last trimester.

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"We expect mass vaccination to begin in early fall," the Director of the Russian National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of N.F. Gamaleya, Alexánder Gíntsburg, stated. 
 
"If the final results of the pre-clinical studies are positive, which we hope they are, in the first ten days of June we plan to request permission from the Ministry of Health for the next stage: the conduct of clinical trials on human volunteers," said the director of the research center.
 
The epidemiologist authority assured testing on mice succeeded and clinical trial advances to control toxicity levels on the vaccine. He added all epidemiologists involved in the research are also volunteer testing subjects with no side effects.  

 
"Not only do we have the antibodies, but we verified the presence of protective antibodies that neutralize the virus," Ginsburg said. As he explained, the vaccination process would not occur simultaneously, so the immunization could last from six to nine months.
 
Gíntsburg explained the testing progression goes under the Russian Health Ministry plan. As the expert described, most vulnerable groups should receive the vaccine, as health workers, given their exposure to the virus. The epidemiologist suggested workers who cannot keep appropriate social distancing or cease labor, would be the second group to receive the medication.  
 
“So far, we have proven to ourselves that the product we offer to the country, we guarantee to be successful," Gíntsburg said.
 
Thus far, Russia has registered 353,427 positive cases, 3,633 deaths, and 118,798  recoveries.