Coronavirus vaccine: China approves Covid-19 vaccine for military use – The Financial Express

Biotech firm CanSino Biologics said that it has received approvals from the Chinese Central Military Commission for use of its Ad5-nCoV as Covid-19 vaccine by the military for a period of one year, Reuters reported on Monday.

The Ad5-nCoV, a Covid-19 vaccine jointly developed by CanSino Biologics and the Academy of Military Medical Sciences– a medical research institute run by the People’s Liberation Army, is among the eight vaccines China has approved for human trials for the respiratory disease caused by Covid-19. The vaccine has also received approval for human testing in Canada.

According to the Reuters’ report, CanSino Biologics, in an exchange filing, said China’s Central Military Commission has approved the use of the vaccine by the military on June 25 for a period of one year after the vaccine was found safe in clinical trials and showed some efficacy.

CanSino said Ad5-nCoV is currently restricted to military use only. It cannot be expanded to a broader vaccination range without receiving a go-ahead from the Logistics Support Department, the biotech firm said.

Ad5-nCoV was among the country’s leading candidates for coronavirus vaccine for quite some time. In fact, it was the first in the world to begin clinical trials on March 16, according to media reports. CanSino had conducted phase 1 and 2 trials in Wuhan, the origin of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of Ad5-nCoV showed it has the potential to prevent diseases caused by the coronavirus, but its commercial success cannot be guaranteed, the company said.

No vaccine has been approved by any country for commercial use against the disease caused by coronavirus. There are more than a dozen vaccines from over 100 companies globally are in different stages of vaccine development. Scientists all over the world are working days and nights to develop the vaccine for Covid-19. The pandemic has so far affected over 10,000,000 people globally and claimed more than 500,000 lives.