Production of Belarusian COVID-19 vaccine to begin in Vitebsk District by late November

The first pilot batch of a Belarusian coronavirus vaccine will be made by OAO BelVitunipharm by the end of November. Clinical trials will begin after that, BelTA learned from Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Vladimir Gusakov at a meeting held at BelVitunipharm premises in Vitebsk District.

BelVitunipharm's pilot manufacturing shop is already fitted with all the necessary equipment and stands ready to make the first pilot batch. Vladimir Gusakov said: “The enterprise is ready to make our Belarusian vaccine against COVID-19. Once it is made, we will go ahead with clinical trials involving volunteers. The vaccine has already gone through preclinical trials and has proven to be highly effective. The enterprise will also make other medications for vaccinating kids and adults. Those will be vaccines adapted to our people taking into account territorial and genetic peculiarities of Belarusians. As you know, foreign vaccines can affect residents of other countries differently than they affect the indigenous population. This is why we are working on creating our own vaccines against COVID-19 and against other viral diseases.”

The official also noted that if the epidemic situation changes, they will be able to rather quickly adapt the composition of vaccines against new strains.

Chairman of the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee Aleksandr Subbotin and Healthcare Minister Dmitry Pinevich visited a new shop of BelVitunipharm. Specialists of the company demonstrated what equipment had already been installed and mentioned when the construction of the vaccine manufacturing shop would begin.