A medical worker gives a shot of Nano Covax to a volunteer in the third-phase trials at the Hanoi-based Vietnam Military Medical University (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The
for a vaccine is necessary but it must be
based on sufficient scientific data, a health official said on June 22.
Nguyen Ngo Quang, Deputy
Director of the Health Ministry’s Department for Science, Technology and
Training, made the remark in response to the
Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC’s proposal for validating its Nano
Covax, a candidate, for emergency use.
Quang noted that before
approving a vaccine for mass use, it is a principle that the Ministry of Health
(MoH) must ensure the safety, the generation of immunity, and the protective
effect of that vaccine.
The emergency use
authorisation for a vaccine depends on many factors, and the MoH needs
scientific data to make a decision, Quang emphasised.
He stressed the MoH’s
absolute support for the development of domestic vaccines, adding that the
health sector’s ultimate goal is to protect people’s health, so benefits and
risks must be thoroughly considered.
Nano Covax is currently in
the third phase of trials, with 1,000 volunteers already getting the shots.
Results recorded so far
showed that this vaccine candidate is safe and has generated the immune
response in volunteers, but its protective effect is still under research.
To have sufficient scientific
basis to assess the immunity generation and protective effect, volunteers need
to be monitored for 36 days, 45 days, and 56 days since the first jabs,
according to the official./.
Source: VietnamPlus
