Emirates tests two vaccines for COVID-19 with China on 15,000 volunteers

The Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Monday that it has begun the third phase of clinical trials of two coronavirus vaccines it is researching in collaboration with China, a process for which it has more than 15,000 volunteers. "We have more than 15,000 volunteers to carry out the tests and we will ensure the best scientific standards for medical studies; and if the safety and efficacy of the vaccine is proven during this phase, the trial will be considered successful," UAE Health Minister Abdul Rahman al-Owais said at a press conference. 

Al-Owais also pledged to ensure the safety of the group of volunteers who will test the two vaccines, both now in their third phase of testing by the Chinese state pharmaceutical company Sinopharm and the Emirate's artificial intelligence company Group 42. 

China had already announced that it was testing in the Emirates a vaccine developed jointly by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and Virology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. A month ago, the Institute of Biological Products in Wuhan, affiliated with Sinopharm, announced that Sinopharm had not shown any serious side effects in the first two phases, and claimed that it was the first candidate to have safety and immunogenicity - the ability to provoke a reaction in the immune system - in its favour. 

While in the second phase the potential vaccine is administered to people who meet the average profile of the final recipient of the remedy to assess its efficacy and safety, the third phase requires the participation of thousands of volunteers. According to the latest official data, the UAE has so far recorded more than 55,000 cases of coronavirus and 334 deaths, although in recent weeks it has gradually lifted restrictions imposed to mitigate the spread of the virus.