Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

With vaccination tests abound, is COVID-19 wading?

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Muscat: Almost seven months have passed since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. All these days some hope of finding a vaccine for the pandemic has become very imminent, especially with the emergence of successful trials in several countries around the world, including China, Britain and America.


Talking to media, Dr Ahmed al Mandhari, the WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said that the Organisation is currently monitoring more than 1,700 clinical trials worldwide to test approximately 200 treatment options or combinations of these options.


There are 23 candidate vaccines subject to clinical evaluation. Another 140 candidate vaccines are under pre-clinical evaluation. "We confirm that many clinical trials of treatments are already underway, with steps and measures to ensure the safety and efficacy of vaccines and treatment."


Al Mandhari added, "What is certain is that vaccine production will not initially meet the needs of everyone, so a careful identification of the highest priority groups is taking place, such as health workers who are on the front lines in fighting the virus."


According to BBC, a coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford appears safe and triggers an immune response. A technique similar to the Oxford one, developed in China, also seems promising. In total there are 23 vaccines in clinical trials around the world and another 140 in early-stage development.


In Russia, officials said that the first Russian vaccine for COVID-19 is now ready. RuslanTsalikov, First Deputy Minister of Defence, confirmed that all the volunteers who participated in the vaccine test are safe and have immunity to the virus. With this, it can be said that the first domestic vaccine against COVID-19 infection is ready.


At the beginning of this week, the China National Biotechnology Group (CNPC) said that the results of human tests for one of the possible vaccines to prevent the emerging coronavirus indicate that it may be safe and effective. It is the second possible vaccine from the company that produces encouraging results in


clinical trials. This comes as authorities have allowed Chinese companies and research centers to test eight possible human vaccines in China and abroad, putting China in an advanced position in the race to develop a vaccine to prevent the pandemic.


However, the WHO Regional Director asserted that in light of the continued search for a treatment, the safety of any drug products and their efficacy in treating COVID-19 has not yet been proven. "Hydroxychloroquine was recently returned to clinical trials after a temporary pause. More than 100 countries are participating in the experiment, including Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan and Kuwait from our region. Jordan is on the way to joining. In general, about 40 hospitals from the region were included in those trials," he added.


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