First Inhaled COVID-19 Vaccine Boosts Fight Against Pandemic Without Needle Use

COVID-19 is still in the air and the need for vaccines is still a must. For some, having it injected has become a bane but a new kind of vaccine that can be simply inhaled may address that.

China is set to become the first country to use this solution, something that comes from CanSino Biologics. It is called Convidecia Air.

Convidecia Air is a vaccine dose that can be taken through a puff of air from a nebulizer that is then inhaled by mouth. The said dose is now being used in China as well as some other countries, CNN reported.

In a database by the World Health Organization, the new product is one of two solutions that is inhaled that has reached clinical phase development. It is one of the many solutions that is being developed to find a vaccine that can deliver COVID-19 protection via the nose and mouth.

This also comes not long after China continues to adhere to a stringent zero-COVID policy. Officials are getting pressured to put outbreaks in control as the lead-up to a twice-a-decade political meeting next month, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to break with tradition and step into a third term.

There are still some cities in China that have been placed in either partial or full lockdown since late August with over 300 million people affected.

One reason seen behind this is the low vaccination rate among the elderly, a medical reason used by authorities to justify the ongoing disease control measures.

Also, there have been new variants of the coronavirus that have impacted the protection offered by first-generation vaccines around the world. This includes home-grown vaccines that provide less robust antibody protection compared to mRNA vaccines.

Regardless, booster and vaccination campaigns continue in China as the country continues its fight by bolstering the protection of its inhabitants.