ANN/CHINA DAILY – China’s CanSino Biologics said that its inhalable COVID-19 vaccine has been given emergency use authorisation by the country’s top drug regulator.
The dose is an aerosolised version of a single-shot, adenovirus-based viral vector vaccine already in use domestically and worldwide. It will be used as a booster only, according to the notice.
It is the first aerosolised vaccine to be approved for public use in China. All nine vaccines that have obtained either conditional market approval or emergency use approval from the National Medical Products Administration so far, are delivered intravenously. An aerosolised COVID-19 vaccine has emerged as a promising field of research due to its easy accessibility and unique way of stimulating protection, according to experts.
A biophysical chemist at Peking University Sunney Xie Xiaoliang and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said during a forum in Beijing over the weekend that aerosolised vaccines could be an effective way to protect against respiratory diseases, including COVID-19, in the future.
The nasal cavity is the body’s first barrier to the novel coronavirus.
Delivering vaccines via this route can stimulate immune responses on mucosal surfaces where viruses enter, according to Xie.