Human trials for Vietnamese Covid vaccine suspended

Vu Dinh Thiem, director of the Clinical Trial Center of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said Tuesday that the third phase trial for the Covivac Covid-19 vaccine needed around 4,000 volunteers.

With no district having thousands of unvaccinated residents who qualify for clinical trials, finding the needed volunteers has proved difficult, he said, adding: "As such, the research group has had to suspend clinical trials and look for a different option."

Thiem said the team was mulling the idea of researching booster shots to be used in the future.

A representative of the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC), which produces the Covivac vaccine, said there is no timeframe for resuming the third phase trial.

Another Vietnamese vaccine, Nanocovax by Nanogen, is in its third phase of clinical trial. ARCT-154 by Vingroup, which received the production technology from a U.S. firm, and a Covid-19 vaccine by Japanese firm Shionogi are also in trial stages. The Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V is under production in Vietnam by Vabiotech.

Vietnam has given 71 million people at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot. Around 50.9 million people have received two shots.