Spain's Health Minister Salvador Illa Friday announced that his country will take part in the first clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Belgian Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which is a property of the U.S. company Johnson & Johnson.
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This will be the second phase of the vaccine's experiments which will have the participation of 190 healthy volunteers. Germany and Belgium will also host this new phase of the process.
"The volunteers will be healthy people between 18 and 65 years old. The experiment also will include healthy people over 65," Illa informed, adding that the selection process will take place next week.
"The experiment will let us see if the vaccine confers protection," researcher Vicente Larraga said and explained that phase two normally lasts one year, "but the trial is progressing quickly, and the process could last only a few months."
The first phase of the vaccine took place in the U.S. and Belgium, where a large study proved that the drug does not produce adverse reactions.
La Paz and La Princesa hospitals in Madrid, and the Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital in Santander, will host the drug trials in Spain.
"As of today, Spain joins the world's efforts to get a vaccine against the coronavirus," Illa said, adding that the COVID-19 vaccine could be available in the country by the end of the year.
In December, the country will receive a batch of vaccines gained by the European Union (EU) from the Swedish-British laboratory AstraZeneca.