PH in final testing for Russian vaccine

President Duterte welcomed last Tuesday Russia’s offer of its anti-COVID-19 vaccine which it plans to start administering to its teachers and health care workers in October. Since all other vaccines now under development in various other countries won’t be ready until December or later, the Russian vaccine would be the first.

But, it must be pointed out, the Russian vaccine, while it has been granted government regulatory approval, still has to complete final testing. Vaccines normally undergo five phases in their development – a pre-clinical testing using animals to see if it produces an immune response, Phase 1 Safety Trials using a small number of people, Phase 2 Expanded Trials using hundreds of people, Phase 3 Efficacy Trials using thousands of people in which it must prove effective in at least 50 percent, and final approval by government regulators.