By the end of the year we will have a prototype of an anti-coronavirus vaccine, Assoc. Prof. Andrey Chorbanov, head of the Laboratory of Experimental Immunology at the Stefan Angelov Institute of Microbiology, has told BNR.

Bulgarian scientists started the development later than their colleagues in other countries in order to have maximum information about the stability of the virus, about the changes that take place in it and to avoid theoretical problems.

"The important thing for us is for the vaccine to be safe but also effective. Bulgaria has many years of experience in developing vaccines. It is very important that the vaccine meets all modern requirements. It should cover as many ethnic groups as possible, different social groups, all age groups and both sexes. It should also be tested on people with chronic diseases, autoimmune diseases, but also diabetes, as well as people who are overweight," the scientist explained.

It takes time to understand how effective the vaccine against Covid-19 is,  Assoc. Prof. Chorbanov said. According to him, generating an immune response after testing a new product did not mean that it prevents infection with coronavirus.