Trials of a nasal coronavirus vaccine have started in Moscow and St. Petersburg

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A clinical trial of Sputnik nasal vaccine against the coronavirus infection has begun in Moscow. The participants of the first two phases will be 400 volunteers; the first of them have already been vaccinated. This is reported on the official website of the capital’s mayor.

“Clinical trials of the nasal vaccine have begun in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In Moscow they are held at Sechenov University and two city polyclinics. The nasal vaccine is the same Sputnik V, with its two components, in the same dosage; the only thing that is different is that it is in the form of a nasal spray, which is also administered twice with an interval of 21 days. The trials have already begun, and the first participants have received their vaccines,” said Anastasia Rakova, Vice Mayor of Moscow for Social Development, head of the operational headquarters for COVID-19 monitoring and control in the city.

During the first two phases, specialists will study the safety and immunogenicity of the drug, i. e., its ability to produce antibodies against the virus. For this purpose, participants will be divided into four groups to be administered different combinations of two components of the vaccine and a placebo.

The study is conducted in four medical organizations, including two Moscow polyclinics (City Polyclinic No. 2 and Diagnostic Center No. 5) and the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University and OOO “NITs Eco-bezopasnost”.