Venezuela proposes assistance in testing COVID-19 vaccine to Russia

Venezuela has proposed assistance in producing COVID-19 vaccines to Russia, China and Cuba; and also in testing the Russian vaccine, the Venezuelan authorities said.

Venezuela has proposed assistance in producing COVID-19 vaccines to Russia, China and Cuba; and also in testing the Russian vaccine, the Venezuelan authorities said. "We have already established communication and voiced our readiness to ... provide our platform for producing the vaccine ... in the talks with China, Russia as well as are discussing the issue with Cuba," Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said during the meeting of the presidential commission on fighting the coronavirus on late Friday.

According to Health Minister Carlos Alvarado, the most significant COVID-19 vaccines on the third phase of clinical trials are being developed by China, the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia. "We are in contact with most of them. Concerning Russia, we have discussed with the Russian Health Ministry an opportunity to create an alliance on [developing] the vaccine ... We have proposed our participation in the third phase of this project, Venezuela will provide 500 people for trials," Alvarado said.

He added that the countries had agreed to consider an opportunity to organize the joint production of the vaccine and the transfer of technologies. Earlier in August, the Russian Health Ministry registered the world's first COVID-19 vaccine, named Sputnik V developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.