Saudi Arabia will start the third phase of a clinical trial for a coronavirus vaccine in cooperation with China’s vaccine developing company CanSino, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Health said on Saturday.
The trial will target 5,000 healthy volunteers in Saudi Arabia over the age of 18 years old, and the ministry is currently working on preparing to launch operations in three main cities: Riyadh, Dammam, and Mecca.
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The first and second phases of the clinical trial of the Ad5-nCOV potential vaccine were conducted in China.
The first phase conducted between 16-27 March included 108 volunteers, and the second phase conducted between 11-16 April involved 603 volunteers.
CanSino’s vaccine uses a modified common cold virus to carry genetic material from the coronavirus into the human body. It elicits antibody and T-cell immune responses and did not prompt any serious side effects.