Vaccination with homegrown QazVac vaccine likely to start in late April

During the press conference at the Central Communications Service, Vice Minister Daulenov said the Kazakhstani vaccine which was previously called QazCovid-In was renamed into QazVac. He reminded that during the preclinical trials the vaccine was tested on different types of animals and then was tested on volunteers.

Kazakhstan is expected to roll out vaccination with its homegrown vaccine in late April, added General Director of the Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems of the Science Committee of the Ministry Kunsulu Zakariya.

«The mass vaccination with the [homegrown] vaccine is set to begin in late April,» she said, adding that the third phase of clinical trials will be finished by July 9.

Ms Zakariya revealed that the first batch of QazVac vaccine was ready and was going through biological control. If the vaccine is approved by the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan, it will be supplied to SK-Pharmacy warehouses.

She also stressed that the Kazakhstani vaccine had 100% efficacy in the first stage of clinical trials and 96% efficacy in the second stage of clinical trials. However, its efficacy may become lower during the third stage of trials.