New inhalation vaccine approved for emergency use

Chinese drugmaker Cansino Biotech said on Sunday that its inhaled COVID-19 vaccine, targeting the XBB.1.5 variant has been approved for emergency use in China.

The adenovirus-vectored vaccine has been recommended by the National Health Commission and has obtained emergency authorization from the National Medical Products Administration, the company said in a notice.

Previously on Friday, three domestic companies announced that their latest COVID-19 vaccines — designed to tackle the XBB.1.5 virus or other variants — have obtained emergency use approval.

Among them is a vaccine based on the messenger RNA technology that was developed by SinoCellTech, a company based in Beijing. The dose tackles multiple variants including XBB.1.

Another new vaccine that was created by CSPC Pharma and is a two-valent dose against XBB.1.5 and BQ.1.

Walvax, a firm based in Yunnan province, also said on Friday that its messenger RNA-based vaccine that is jointly developed with researchers from Shanghai can protect against XBB.1.5 and has been approved for emergency use.

Zhong Nanshan, a noted respiratory illness expert, said earlier this year that six domestic vaccines that can protect against XBB variants — the dominant COVID-19 strain in circulation — were in the pipeline.