21 May 2020 21:40

Coronavirus vaccine for broad use to become available in late July - Russian health minister

MOSCOW. May 21 (Interfax) - A vaccine for Covid-19 that could be used by the broader public will become available in late July, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on the Rossiya 1 (VGTRK) television channel on Thursday.

"We are predicting that first results and the vaccine's availability for broader use should materialize somewhere in late July," Murashko said.

Today, several vaccine developers are conducting studies. "Pre-clinical trials are now under way, and everything is going as scheduled, without failure, so far," he said.

Both state-run and private companies are engaged in this. "Some are closer to the end result, some are farther from it," he said.

"We would very much like to see several vaccines appear on our market. This is always a competitive advantage and one can compare their quality," Murashko said.