Kazakhstan starts clinical trials of iCOVID-19 vaccine

Clinical trials of Kazakhstani QazCovid-in vaccine against the COVID-19 virus developed by the Scientific Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems have kicked off in Kazakhstan, Report says, citing Interfax. 

By the information, the adult volunteers aged 18-50 years old will undergo the clinical trials. Phase 1 trials will define the vaccine's safety on 44 volunteers free of COVID-19 and antibodies, while the 2nd phase will assess immunogenicity with 22 volunteers' involvement.

A total of 688 applications have been submitted by citizens to take part in the clinical trials. The vaccine's clinical trials will be conducted at the Health Ministry's National Scientific Center of Phthisiopulmonology and Сentre for Clinical Medicine and Resеarch LLP.

On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities announced an outbreak of pneumonia in China's Wuhan, and the causative agent is a new type of coronavirus officially named COVID-19.

On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a new coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.