Russia plans to make 30 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine domestically this year, with the possibility to produce a further 170 million doses abroad, the head of the nation's autonomous wealth fund said. The first human trial of the vaccine, a month-long evaluation on 38 people, stopped this past week. Researchers concluded that it is safe for usage and causes an immune reaction, even though the strength of the response is yet uncertain.

A bigger Phase III trial involving several thousand people is forecast to begin in August, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) mind Kirill Dmitriev.

"We feel based on the recent results it will soon be approved at Russia in August and in various other nations in September...,'' making it possibly the first vaccine to be approved in the planet," he told Reuters in an interview.

The Russian Stage III trial will be run from Russia and also two Middle Eastern states, Dmitriev said, and will begin after having a smaller, 100-person Phase II trial wraps up on August 3.

Russia's official coronavirus instance tally moved past 7.5 lakh, the fourth largest in the world, after police reported 6,428 new cases from the previous 2-4 hours.

The Russian defence ministry on Wednesday said it was developed a more"safe" coronavirus vaccine following clinical trials on a group of volunteers.

The results of the trials"let us consult with optimism about the safety and good tolerability of the vaccine", it said in an announcement.

Meanwhile, the early-stage human trial data on a vaccine currently being produced by AstraZeneca and also Oxford University will be released on July 20, '' The Lancet medical journal said. The Oxford vaccine offender is already in large scale Stage III human trials in Brazil to check whether it can force away COVID-19, however, its developers have yet to report Stage I results.