The world is getting closer to finding a vaccine for the dreaded COVID-19 infections, at least it seems so. Two possible vaccines had entered the final stage of the trial. Now, a third contender has entered the final stage of approval. What's more, this one has been created in the virus' country of origin – China.
CoronaVac has been developed by a Chinese company called Sinovac. It is being put to the ultimate test for proving its effectiveness – stage 3 trials – in Brazil, the country which already has more than 80,000 fatalities due to this dreaded infection.
Stage 3 trials involve the hypothetical vaccine being given to a large number of people. As many as 9,000 health workers, approximately, in Brazil, will be administered CoronaVac in the upcoming three months. The results will take roughly the same amount of time to arrive.
These men and women, who are receiving the formula, hail from six states of the South American country. The tests are being done in the province of Sao Paolo and require the volunteers to receive two doses of the concoction.
Only two other contenders in the race to become the official Coronavirus vaccine have reached this final stage of testing. One of them, developed at Oxford University, has already shown positive results in the initial stages of the trials. Brazil is the testing ground for these two also. Its status as the second-most COVID-afflicted nation makes it the ideal place for the trials.
Sinovac is conducting these tests in partnership with Butantan Institute, a Brazilian center for medical research operated by the government. If the trials produce positive results, as is hoped, then this same institute will manufacture 120 million doses of CoronaVac. It will be a boon for the nation as it has been crippled by the pandemic.
One of the other two possible vaccines to reach the last stage of testing has also been manufactured by a Chinese company – Sinopharm. This firm is conducting large-scale trials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The product created at Oxford University, in partnership with a company called AstraZeneca, is also in the process of Stage 3 trials in Brazil. However, this contender for the long-awaited vaccine is simultaneously passing through stage 3 testing in Britain and South Africa also. The same Butantan Institute is planning for large-scale production of this one too if it passes with flying colours.
