Phl eyes Russian vaccine – Palace

The research has been completed and it proved that the vaccine is safe. The volunteers will be discharged on July 15 and July 20

Malacañang has expressed hopes that President Rodrigo Duterte’s independent foreign policy and friendship with Russia would be advantageous to the Philippines in terms of acquiring vaccines.

This came after Russia became the first country to have completed clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate — a development that could put an end to coronavirus pandemic which wreaked havoc in social and economic activites worldwide.

In a televised briefing on Tuesday, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Chief Executive’s “friends to all, enemy to none” policy might prompt Russia to prioritize the country in granting vaccines once it enters commercial production.

“I hope it’s true because, our lives will not go back to normal unless a vaccine is developed. And because our President implements an independent foreign policy where we are friends to all and enemy of none, we are expecting that Russians will share to us the vaccine they would develop,” Roque said.

The President, who has sought closer ties with Moscow, visited Russia in 2017 and in 2019. In his recent visit, he met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and gave his perspective or vision of the world order in a highprofile forum attended by diplomats and other state leaders.

Russia’s Sechenov University announced on Sunday through an interview with the state news agency that it had successfully completed the clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the state-run Gamalei Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.

“The research has been completed and it proved that the vaccine is safe. The volunteers will be discharged on 15 July and 20 July,” said Elena Smolyarchuk, head and chief researcher of the university’s Center for Clinical Research on Medications.

The Moscow Times reported that the vaccine could “enter civil circulation” on 12 to 14 August and that private companies may begin mass production by September. A potential vaccine has to go through three phases of studies to determine its effectiveness and safety before being approved for large-scale production, based on the protocols of the World Health Organization.

To date, there are at least 21 vaccines currently under trial globally.

MARTIN BERNETTI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE CLIFFORD, a Golden Retriever being trained to detect people infected with coronavirus COVID-19, is shown during a presentation to the press, in Santiago, Chile.