Seventeen more volunteers were injected with Nanocovax, the first Covid-19 vaccine developed by Viet Nam, by the Military Medical University in the morning of December 22.

The Military Medical University injects each of 17 volunteers with a dose of 25mcg of Nanocovax (Photo: VNA)

The people, who are among 60 volunteers selected for the first phase human trial, each received a dose of 25mcg. They have been under medical monitoring at the university for 72 hours.

The first three volunteers were vaccinated on December 17. They are now in stable conditions and under health monitoring in their localities. The three will get the second jabs 28 days after the first injection.

The university is scheduled to increase the dose to 50mcg for three other volunteers.

Some 300-400 volunteers have so far registered for the clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccine.

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

The test will last for 56 days from the day given of the first injection. The participants will be under medical monitoring for six months.

The Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC has spent 20 billion VND (865,946 USD) buying a health insurance package for the volunteers.

If the trials show good results, the drug-maker plans to administer Nanocovax to the public in May 2021.

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

Viet Nam recorded six new imported Covid-19 cases on December 22 evening, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 1,420.

The new patients included five Vietnamese citizens returning home from Poland and Germany, and one Japanese expert.

Of the total, 693 are domestically-transmitted cases, including 553 infections since the pandemic broke out in the central city of Da Nang on July 25, according to the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control.

The subcommittee for treatment reported that 12 more patients have given the all-clear from coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,281. Meanwhile, the number of deaths related to the disease remained at 35.

Among the patients undergoing treatment across the country, six people tested negative for the virus once, 10 twice and four thrice.

As many as 16,360 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or entered Viet Nam from pandemic-hit regions are currently quarantined nationwide, including 187 in hospitals, 15,038  in concentrated quarantine establishments and the remainders at their residences.

Source: VNA