Combating coronavirus: UAE expects Covid-19 vaccine by end of 2020 or early 2021

The UAE has started the phase 3 clinical trial of a Covid-19 vaccine that is expected to be available by the end of 2020 or early 2021, authorities said on Wednesday.
This clinical trial operation is part of the country's partnership with China. It is the world's first inactivated Covid-19 vaccine to enter the third phase of trials. An agreement was recently signed between the Chinese pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm and Group 42 (G42), an Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company. G42 will lead the clinical trial operations in the UAE under the supervision of health authorities in Abu Dhabi.
"The vaccine succeeded in passing the first and second stages of the experiments without causing any harmful effects, as the percentage of volunteers who managed to generate antibodies after two days of the dose reached 100 per cent," said Dr Farida Al Hosani, official spokesperson of the UAE health sector. 
The first two stages of the vaccine's trials were conducted in China. Elaborating on the procedure, Dr Al Hosani said clinical trials are divided into three stages that include making sure the vaccine is safe; assessing immunity generation; and evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine on a larger segment of people. 
Volunteers in a number of hospitals across the country will be participating in the third phase, according to a tweet posted by the Abu Dhabi Media Office on Wednesday. 
UAE leads research 
Dr Al Hosani said that the UAE is leading the world in initiating research on an effective vaccine to control the spread of the virus. 
The country's scientific research in the health sector is focused on three main axes:  The first includes epidemiological studies that help in identifying the disease and ways to control it. The second focuses on studies specialised in diagnosing the disease and developing innovative and rapid diagnostic solutions, including genetic studies.
The third axis of scientific research priorities are centred on clinical research related to treatment and vaccinations.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com 
 

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