Trials 2 second edition

/ January 4, 2021

Vietnam to launch trials for second local COVID-19 vaccine in January

Covivac is set to become the second vaccine which has been both produced and clinically tested in Vietnam. Dr. Duong Huu Thai, director of IVAC, told local media that Covivac has so far been tested on animals, including mice and rabbits, with the results showing that the vaccine has successfully created a high level of immunity among animals. With the vaccine being evaluated for its safety and protective immunity in animals, IVAC have requested that the Ministry of Health give permission to start human clinical testing, scheduled for late January, said Dr. Thai. According to Dr. Thai, IVAC initially started conducting Covivac vaccine research in May 2020, with the aim of producing the vaccine and completing a three-phase clinical trial over the course of 18 months. Recent months has seen IVAC scientists establish a similar manufacturing process for seasonal flu vaccines, as they use the chicken whole embryo culture technology in order to carry out the production process for their COVID-19 vaccine in a similar manner to that of the A/H5N1 influenza vaccine. During research, strain NDV-LaSota-S was used as a vector of S protein expression of SARS-CoV-2. This is a low virulence strain that is used in many vaccines. “Having experienced the production of various kinds of vaccines over the past decades, IVAC scientists believe in the feasibility of the COVID-19 vaccine being produced by the Institute,” said Dr. Thai. The vaccine will be clinically tested in different groups of volunteers through three phases by the IVAC in collaboration with the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the Hanoi Medical University. Providing that the results are successful, the second Made-in-Vietnam COVID-19 vaccine will be commercially marketed by the end of the year. Alongside IVAC, three other Vietnamese agencies are in the process of researching and producing COVID-19 vaccines. They are the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No1 (VABIOTECH), the …

/ December 26, 2020

Volunteers receive 50mcg dose of Nano Covax to combat COVID-19

The trio are among a group of 20 volunteers who are scheduled to receive the 50mcg dose as part of the ongoing human clinical trial campaign which is being carried out by Nano Covax producer, Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, and the Military Medical Academy. The three volunteers will remain under close scrutiny at the Academy over the course of the subsequent 72 hours. Providing that they stay healthy, the group’s remaining 17 volunteers will then receive a similar dose. The first group of 20 volunteers received a 25mcg doze of Nano Covax on December 17 and have so far shown no signs of any negative side effects, with the exception of a mild temperature of less than 37.8 degrees Celsius. “Based on the encouraging results, the Ministry of Health has permitted the Military Medical Academy to continue with the 50mcg injection on a further 20 volunteers,” said Major General, Prof. Dr. Hoang Van Luong, deputy director of the Military Medical Academy. According to Gen. Luong, an additional group of 20 volunteers will subsequently be given a 75mcg dose of Nano Covax over the coming days in an effort to test the vaccine’s safety. The first phase of the testing campaign involves the participation of 60 volunteers and will be finished following a six-week period. The Academy is now recruiting volunteers to take part in the second and third phases which are scheduled to start in March and August, 2021, respectively. In addition to Nanogen, three other Vietnamese firms are in the process of researching and producing COVID-19 vaccines. They are the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No1 (Vabiotech), the Institute of Vaccines and Biological Medical (Ivac), and the Centre for Immunization Vaccines (Polyvac). It is anticipated that both Ivac and Vabiotech will test their COVID-19 vaccines on humans in March, 2021. …

/ March 2, 2021

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES MARCH 2

Red Spring Festival expects to collect over 4,000 blood units Young people donate their blood In his opening remarks, Director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) Bach Quoc Khanh, who is head of the festival’s organizing board, said that the festival has been held annually since 2008 to address blood shortages after the lunar New Year holiday, and gradually changed public awareness of blood donation. After 13 editions, the festival has collected over 85,000 blood units and become the annual biggest blood donation event. Khanh took the occasion to express his gratitude for donators nationwide. The 14th edition is taking place from March 1-7 at the NIHBT headquarters, and three fixed places - 26 Luong Ngoc Quyen in Hoan Kiem district, 132 Quan Nhan in Thanh Xuan district, and Valley 122 of Lang Street in Dong Da district. The organizing board expects to receive over 4,000 blood units during this year’s festival, which then will be allocated to nearly 180 hospitals and medical establishments of 28 provinces and cities in the northern region. It has also made thorough preparations to welcome donors so as to ensure COVID-19 prevention and control as recommended by the World Health Organisation and the Health Ministry./. Fatal coach crash kills three, injures 4 in Dong Thap A serious traffic accident caused by a passenger coach took place on National Highway 54 in Tan Thanh Commune of Dong Thap Province’s Lai Vung District this morning, March 1, killing three and injuring four people. The passenger coach with plate number 51B-17273 driven by Tran Van Nam, aged 41, was heading from Vam Cong Bridge to Vinh Long Province when it plowed into a group of 10 bike riders and killed a rider, identified as Tran Van An, aged 59. The passenger coach continued slamming into two electric poles and a tree on the pavement, damaging the front of the coach. Local residents immediately took some injured passengers …