Moscow, October 16: Russia, which has registered two vaccines against coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, can register a third vaccine in a month, Anna Popova, the head of the national public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has said. According to Sputnik News, phase 2 trials of the third anti-coronavirus vaccine will start next week. Russia is the only country in the world to have developed vaccines against COVID-19. COVID-19 Vaccine Update: WHO Says Widespread Vaccination Not Possible Until Mid-2021.

"I want to say that the Russian Federation has two vaccines, and I'm sure that the third vaccine will be registered in a month," Popova told the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on Thursday. His statement came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the country has registered the second COVID-19 vaccine, named 'EpiVacCorona'. Russia had registered first vaccine 'Sputnik V' in August. COVID-19 Vaccine EpiVacCorona: Key Things to Know About Russia's Second Anti-Coronavirus Drug.

Putin has said Russia will launch a third vaccine in "near future". According to Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, results of studies on the third anti-coronavirus vaccine are expected by mid-December. Russia’s third vaccine is being developed by the Chumakov Federal Scientific Centre for Research. The clinical trials of the potential vaccine candidate will involve 300 volunteers.

According to a report, during the treatment, the third vaccine will use weakened or deactivated real SARS-CoV-2 viruses, which will not infect the recipients with COVID-19, but will still help the body generate a lasting immunity from the real coronavirus infection.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 16, 2020 07:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).