Beijing: China has approved one more inactivated Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, according to an announcement by the developer of the jab.
Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., Ltd., the developer, said Friday that the vaccine it developed has started related work for Phase III clinical trial, reports Xinhua news agency.
The vaccine reported no adverse events with an intensity of grade 3 or above in the first two phases of its clinical trials, according to the company’s research submitted to MedRxiv, a web portal distributing preprints about health sciences.
A grade 3 adverse event refers to side effects that are severe or medically significant but not immediately life-threatening, according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events.
Research, development and industrialization of the vaccine are going smoothly, said the company, adding that a vaccine manufacturing plant built in the Nanshan district of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, has kicked off production.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) granted emergency approval for the Covid vaccine made by Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm. It is the first jab developed by a non-Western country to get WHO backing.
Prior to the WHO approval, the Sinopharm vaccine was already being widely used, with an estimated 65 million doses administered, according to reports. Another jab being administered in China against the disease is the Sinovac vaccine.