A female volunteer gets injected with a 50mcg shot of the homegrown COVID-19 vaccine Nano Covax in Hà Nội on Saturday. Sixty volunteers were selected and divided into three groups to test different doses of the vaccine, 20mcg, 50mcg and 75mcg. VNA/VNS Photo Diệp Trương

HÀ NỘI – Three first volunteers received the first shot of a dose of 50mcg of Nanocovax COVID-19 vaccine on December 26 morning. 

Developed by the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC and the Việt Nam Military Medical University, Nanocovax is Việt Nam's first COVID-19 candidate vaccine to reach the human trial stage.

A total of 60 volunteers, aged 18-50, were selected for the first phase of the clinical trials. They are divided into three groups for receiving three doses of 25 mcg, 50 mcg and 75 mcg, respectively. The vaccination consists of two injections 28 days apart.

After the injection, the volunteers have been put under health monitoring at the Hanoi-based Military Medical University for 72 hours. The remaining 17 in the group will get injections of the 50mcg dose if the vaccine’s safety is confirmed. 

The first group testing the 25 mcg dose received the first injections on December 17. According to Major General Hoàng Văn Lương, Deputy Director of the university, after the shots, all the 20 volunteers in the group are in stable condition with no abnormal signs detected. 

The first phase is scheduled to end after a month and a half, during which the university will continue to select suitable volunteers for the second, which is scheduled to begin in March 2021. 

The participants will be under medical monitoring for six months from the day they were given the first injection.

The Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC has spent VNĐ20 billion (US$865,946) buying a health insurance package for the volunteers. 

Apart from Nanocovax, Việt Nam has several other COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed by Vabiotech, Polyvac, and the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals. — VNS