New Covid-19 variants cannot neutralize Vietnam’s vaccines: expert

New Covid-19 variants cannot neutralize Vietnam’s vaccines: expert

The Saigon Times

HCMC – New variants of the coronavirus from the United Kingdom and South Africa cannot neutralize locally-produced Covid-19 vaccines as they contain mutations in only some gene segments, according to Professor Dr Dang Duc Anh, head of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.

On January 21, the Ministry of Health kick-started the human trial process of Vietnam’s second Covid-19 vaccine, Covivac, produced by the Khanh Hoa-based Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC), the local media reported.

At the ceremony to kick-start the trial process, Anh said common symptoms after the vaccination comprise pain, erythema and swelling where the person has been injected. IVAC has bought insurance for volunteers participating in the trial.

The new Covid-19 variants will also not affect Covivac’s efficacy, Anh noted, adding that they will also not affect the vaccines of other countries. That is why global vaccine producers are continuing their work.

At a meeting of the national steering committee for Covid-19 infection prevention and control on the same day, a representative of the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health said 46 countries worldwide had kick-started Covid-19 vaccine injection programs with some 28 million doses of vaccines.

However, it will need time to inject all residents with the vaccines and produce a strong immune response in the community, especially when new coronavirus variants have been confirmed in many countries.