An intranasal COVID-19 vaccine developed by China has been shown to be safe and effective during early human trials, according to a study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
Compared to currently available vaccines against the new coronavirus, which are administered by intramuscular injection, the Chinese drug, coded as dNS1-RBD, is a live attenuated influenza vaccine, administered nasally in two doses.
The new vaccine was jointly developed by Xiamen University, the University of Hong Kong and the Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise.
Between September 2020 and July 2021, researchers completed phase 1 and 2 trials in hospitals in east China’s Jiangsu province. More than 1,000 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 86 participated in the trials, which were randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled.
Clinical trials show effectiveness of intranasal vaccine #china contra #COVID19 https://t.co/peyU2xsSAZ pic.twitter.com/5K9kJQEMes
— China Xinhua Español (@XHespanol) June 1, 2022
According to the study, one month after the second dose, immune responses were seen in vaccine recipients. The response rate in subjects was 40 percent, significantly higher than that of the placebo group.
The study also highlights that the vaccine, which is used without the need for needles, was well tolerated by all participants. Its efficacy in older adults (60 years or older) was similar to that in younger recipients (18 to 59 years).
According to the vaccine developers, nine months after the two doses of dNS1-RBD, the protective effect against the beta variant of SARS-CoV-2 remained as good as against the original strain of the virus.
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Fuente: Xinhua
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