SASKATOON -- Saskatchewan’s homegrown COVID-19 vaccine development is facing a roadblock.
A vaccine candidate developed at the University of Saskatchewan-based Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) is currently in Phase One of its clinical trials, underway in Halifax.
However, VIDO's CEO says more people are dropping out of the trials.
"With people getting the authorized vaccines, there's less and less people available, or willing to participate, in these clinical trials,” Volker Gerdts, the CEO and director of VIDO, tells CTV News.
“So we have seen a few volunteers who have decided to get the authorized vaccine and so they have dropped out of the trials.”
Still, VIDO is confident in its vaccine development and is awaiting its first set of data — which will show how effective the shot is and whether there have been any adverse reactions.
Gerdts hopes the vaccine will be used in Canada as a booster shot down the road.
Because VIDO’s shot doesn’t need to be stored at ultra-low temperatures, its main target is to help vaccinate lower-income countries.
“Canada is priority number one, but we would like to see our vaccine go worldwide for sure,” Gerdts says.
“There’s countries where they don’t even have any vaccines yet. That’s where we are aiming for — being part of the international efforts to provide vaccines for the world.”
