MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/: Volunteers that have been vaccinated against COVID-19 two weeks ago in Russia’s Burdenko military hospital have not developed any adverse symptoms, the Russian Defense Ministry informed reporters on Friday.
"Volunteers from the first group that received one out of two components of a vaccine on June 18 are feeling well, they have not complained about their health. In the past two weeks, no serious adverse symptoms have been detected," the ministry said.
The volunteers forming part of the second group have received the first component of the vaccine on June 23, and 21 days later, they will be injected with the second component. "They are also feeling well, there are no complications or side effects," the ministry said.
Clinical testing of a COVID-19 vaccine is held by the Russian Defense Ministry along with the Gamalei National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology. Clinical testing is expected to conclude in late July.
In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 10,820,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 519,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 6,000,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.
To date, 661,165 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 428,978 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 9,683 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.
