Venezuelan Minister for Health, Carlos Alvarado, reported this Friday that the South American country will provide 500 volunteers to participate in phase 3 of the Russian “Sputnik V” vaccine trials against the coronavirus.
“We have proposed to the Russian Federation that we participate in phase 3 of this project, that is, Venezuela is going to provide 500 volunteers for this very important phase for the massive application of the vaccine,” said Alvarado, who added that it means “two doses at an interval of 21 days.”
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#EnVideo 📹| Ministro de Salud, @AlvaradoC_Salud: Hemos hecho alianzas con Rusia para disponer de la vacuna Sputnik 5 contra la Covid-19
#VenezuelaDignaYAntiimperialista pic.twitter.com/kLiLZPLevo— VTV CANAL 8 (@VTVcanal8) August 21, 2020
According to the official, both countries agreed to study the possibility of joint mass production of the vaccine. “We have in Venezuela the vaccine plant created by President Chávez in University City, with scientific capacity, technology and sufficient equipment to work.”
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In this sense, Alvarado pointed out that “surely some investments will have to be made” , but Venezuela “is able to start working very quickly with the Russian vaccine” in the country.
The authority explained that Venezuela also wants to carry out phase 3 clinical trials with “the Chinese vaccine Sinovac.” In this sense, the country has “some doubts” about the vaccine that the United Kingdom will produce, since the AstraZeneca laboratory “left Venezuela out of the trials for fear of US sanctions.”
Likewise, the Venezuelan government approved resources to advance towards therapeutic alternatives developed by Venezuelan scientists in the face of Covid-19. So far, Venezuela reports 317 deaths from coronavirus and 38,188 cases nationwide since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
Featured image: Caracas, Venezuela, June 16, 2020. Photo: Manaure Quintero / Reuters
Translation: OT/JRE/EF
