COVID-19 Vaccine Latest News: 50,000 Doses of Russia's EpiVacCorona Likely to be Available by 2020 End

Moscow, November 20: Russian State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology Vector is likely to provide 50,000 doses of its EpiVacCorona vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19) by the end of the year, the national consumer rights watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said on Friday. Mass inoculation with the EpiVacCorona vaccine, currently in phase 3 post-registration clinical trials, is planned for 2021, the watchdog added. COVID-19 Vaccine EpiVacCorona: Key Things to Know About Russia's Second Anti-Coronavirus Drug.

"There are plans to release 50,000 doses of the vaccine by the end of the year," Rospotrebnadzor said, as reported by Sputnik News. The Vector has already produced 15,000 doses, the watchdog added. Russia had registered EpiVacCorona, the second coronavirus vaccine after Sputnik V, in October. The Vector is developing three more vaccines against coronavirus infection.

How is EpiVacCorona Vaccine?

EpiVacCorona is a peptide synthetic vaccine based on a recombinant virus. A peptide synthetic vaccine mimics certain parts of the pathogen they are designed to protect from, compelling the human body to produce antigens capable of fighting the original virus. According to the Vector, the vaccine stimulates the intracellular synthesis of coronavirus’s parts.

It forces a body to generate an immune response, both on a cellular level and by releasing antibodies into a person's blood and lymph. EpiVacCorona vaccine treatment is different from that of Sputnik V, in terms of the target group for the vaccine and in terms of how many injections are required to form the lasting immune response.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 20, 2020 05:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).