Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A vaccine against COVID-19 of the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the pharmaceutical company Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd, co-authored by Uzbekistan, has been approved for emergency use in China. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Health.

This vaccine is the fourth coronavirus vaccine developed in the People’s Republic of China for emergency use.

Research on the vaccine began in early 2020, and the results were published in the international journal Cell. Phases I and II of vaccine testing were completed in October 2020.

The results showed that during the entire course of vaccination there were no more serious side effects than a mild reaction, as well as the formation of neutralizing antibodies in the blood, which is one of the signs that assess the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Phase III clinical trials of the vaccine began in November 2020 in China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Ecuador and Indonesia. During the full course of drug testing, serious side effects were not recorded.

The Chinese partners have recognized Uzbekistan as a co-author for its active participation in vaccine research. The vaccine is registered in Uzbekistan under the name ZF-UZ-VAC 2001.