China approves trials on using mRNA vaccine as booster shot

The authorities have so far insisted that boosters use the same technology as the initial shots, but the latest trial could widen the options available

Vaccines made using the advanced genetic technique may boost immunity

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Walvax in planning trials in two Chinese provinces. Photo: Weixin

Published: 7:00am, 12 Nov 2021Updated: 7:21pm, 12 Nov 2021

China has approved trials for the use of a domestically developed mRNA Covid-19 vaccine as a booster shot — a development that could widen the options for China’s vaccination campaign.

The Ministry of Science and Technology said it had approved clinical trials on the efficacy and safety of using the vaccine, which uses advanced genetic techniques to trigger an immune response, on adults who have already been given vaccines made using inactivated material from the coronavirus.

The vaccine, ARCoVax, was jointly developed by the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Suzhou Abogen Biosciences and Walvax Biotechnology. It is being tested in global multi-site final stage human trials, which hope to recruit about 30,000 participants. Trial participants in Mexico were inoculated in September and in Malaysia last month.

Another mRNA vaccine, developed by BioNTech and distributed globally by Pfizer, has been licensed for import and manufacture in China by Fosun Pharma. It completed bridge trials in China in March but has yet to be approved by the drug regulator.

The initial phase of China’s vaccination programme relied heavily on inactivated vaccines, but trials are now being carried out to see whether vaccines made using newer techniques can boost immunity.