Kazakhstan delivers homegrown COVID-19 Vaccine – QazVac
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NUR-SULTAN, 27 April – On April 22, Kazakhstan delivered the first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine that was produced locally.
The QazVac was developed by Kazakhstan’s Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems and, according to the authorities of Kazakhstan, was included in the World Health Organization register. The vaccine uses an inactivated form of the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself and, the developer claims, does not cause vaccine-associated disorders.
The QazVac comprises two doses, to be administered three weeks apart. Moreover, it is transported in a refrigerator at a temperature of + 2-8 degrees.
On April 26, the QazVac was delivered for COVID-19 vaccinations in Kazakhstan. Kassym Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan announced on Twitter that the vaccine production will be increased domestically to make the QazVac available to all in the country. He also thanked the developers of the vaccine, who made Kazakhstan one of the few countries in the world able to produce its own COVID-19 vaccine.
Kazakhstan’s Healthcare Minister Alexey Tsoi was among the first to be inoculated with the vaccine this Monday.
Before launching the homegrown jab, Kazakhstan’s vaccination drive has been powered by Russia’s Sputnik V, which has been produced locally for the past couple of months. By late last week, over 800,000 people had received their first dose. Kazakhstan’s has a population of 18 million people, the local production of homegrown vaccine will help increase the vaccination rate in Kazakhstan and, in future, abroad.
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