Professor Mohamed Dahmani Fatallah, Professor of Biotechnology at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU), confirmed during his participation in the Vaccines Summit held recently in Boston, USA, that Covid-19 still endangers human lives despite the worldwide decline of the pandemic. He pointed out that periodic vaccination using second-generation vaccines will play an important role in preventing virus variants.
During the summit, which is one of the largest scientific conferences for vaccines with wide participation of elite specialists in vaccine development, Prof. Fatallah presented a lecture on the Covid-19 second-generation vaccine developed though the Biotechnology Programme at AGU which obtained both an international and an American patent.
He pointed out that the vaccine developed at AGU received wide praise from leading conference participants, being a second-generation vaccine developed in innovative manner locally, outside the few countries that monopolise the production of these vaccines, affirming that this constitutes an achievement for the Kingdom of Bahrain as well as AGU.
Prof. Fatallah stated: “After the pandemic subsided, Coronavirus 2 became endemic, and Covid-19 continues to endanger human health. This is why periodic vaccination using second-generation vaccines will play an important role in preventing further virus variants.”
He stressed the necessity of taking measures to pass the manufacturing phase to get this vaccine on the market. He also emphasised the extreme importance of the strategic aspect of regional manufacture of vaccines developed by local universities and research centres.
Prof. Fatallah added: “This responsibility falls on the pharmaceutical industry sector, which must strengthen connection with universities and research institutions in the Gulf region. It must also invest in the local scientific pool, which will guarantee distinctive economic returns and reflect positively on the health system, especially during crises such as the corona pandemic.”
