Kazakhstan has developed the world's first "live" vaccine against COVID-19. The vaccine is at the completion stage of the preclinical tests. Kunsulu Zakarya, general director of the Research Institute of Biological Safety Problems, told about it during the government meeting, reports Kapital.kz.
"[In the same year] we have developed both inactivated vaccine QazCovid-in and a subunit vaccine (QazCovid B) against COVID-19. They are currently undergoing clinical trials. Last year, a vector vaccine based on capripoxvirus against influenza and COVID-19 was developed."
In addition, a vaccine against nodular dermatitis was developed in 2018, which is three times cheaper than its foreign counterparts. In this regard, the national budget savings amounted to 6 billion tenge.
In 2019, a new vector vaccine against brucellosis was developed; in 2020, a vaccine against camel smallpox.
According to the head of the research institute, over the past four years, the production of vaccines has increased more than 5 times, from 9 million tons to 49 million tons of doses, diagnostic test systems - which is a twofold increase.
"Without material and technical equipment it is impossible to achieve high indicators. The Ministry of Education and Science allocated 720 million tenge for material and technical equipment of laboratories in 2020 and 195 million tenge in 2021. This was the first time in 63 years of the institute. In turn, the Institute's own funds in 2020 purchased equipment worth 240 million tenge, in 2021 - 680 million tenge."