MOSCOW, July 26 (Reuters) - Russia has given the green light
for clinical trials combining a British shot from AstraZeneca
and Oxford University with Russia's Sputnik V vaccine to
go ahead, according to Russia's state drug register.
The health ministry's ethical committee had in May suspended
the approval process for the clinical trials, and requested
additional information.
According to the state drug register, five Russian clinics
will hold trials that are set to finish in early March, 2022.
Both the AstraZeneca/Oxford and Sputnik V vaccines involve
two doses -- an initial shot and a booster-- but Sputnik V uses
different viral vectors for its two shots.
So-called viral vector shots use harmless modified viruses
as vehicles, or vectors, to carry genetic information that helps
the body build immunity against future infections.
Human trials of a COVID-19 vaccine combining the
AstraZeneca/Oxford shot with Sputnik V had already been approved
in Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Belarus.
(Reporting by Polina Nikolskaya and Vladimir Soldatkin, Editing
by Timothy Heritage)