New Covid vaccine developed in Catalonia to go to human trials

The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) has authorized the first vaccine against Covid-19 developed in Catalonia or all of Spain to go to clinical trials in humans. 

Dozens of hospital volunteers between the ages of 18-39 will take part in the trial for the PHH-1V vaccine developed by the Catalan firm Hipra. 

Two doses of the vaccine will be injected 21 days apart in order to analyze the safety and tolerability of the vaccine as well as its effectiveness.

The vaccine of the company Hipra, based in Amer in Girona, is based on two recombinant proteins of the alpha and beta variants which are able to generate an immune response to one of the coronavirus proteins.

The phase I trial will divide the volunteers into groups and will increase the dose that each group will receive depending on the response it generates in the first dose. 

The Girona pharmaceutical company believes the clinical study would begin in August at the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona and the Trueta hospital in Girona.

Vaccine rollout

As of August 10, 2021, 5,376,653 residents have been given the first dose of the vaccine, 68.2% of the total population. Out of those, 4,184,275 have also been administered a second dose (53.2% of the total population).

A total of 4,716,306 residents are considered to be fully immunized (59.9%). Under 65s who have already had the virus are only required to have the first dose, and others have received a single-dose jab. Therefore, the % of two doses administered and % fully immunized do not match.