MOVE aside the prickling needle sensation of receiving COVID-19 booster shot. China’s breakthrough inhaled COVID vaccine may soon be making its way to Malaysian shores pending the success of a clinical trial endorsed by the Health Ministry’s (MOH) Medical Research and Ethics Committee (MREC).
MREC has provided ethical approval to Convidecia Air – the commercial name of the COVID inhaler manufactured by CanSino Biologics Inc – to start a clinical trial in Malaysia, marking the maiden trial study of the inhaled version of COVID-19 vaccine in Malaysia.
Yesterday (Sept 5), China’s National Medical Products Administration granted approval for the CanSino’s Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine for Inhalation to be used as a booster dose in the country’s quest to battle COVID-19 cases which stay at elevated levels.
On Friday (Sept 2) night, lockdown was imposed on Chengdu – a mega-city of 21 million – in tandem with the country’s pursuit off its rigid COVID-zero policy.
Interested Malaysians can participate in the clinical trials which will take place at Hospital Ampang, Hospital Selayang and Hospital Kuala Lumpur in the Klang Valley, according to CanSino’s ASEAN manufacturing partner, Solution Group Bhd.
“This clinical trial will evaluate the immunogenicity, efficacy and safety of Convidecia Air vs Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as a second booster dose against emerging variants of concern of SARS-Cov2 to prevent breakthrough infections among sub-optimal responders to first booster vaccination,” explained Solution Group’s deputy group managing director Datuk Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal.
“Anyone who is 50 years old and above with or without co-morbidities or any immunocompromised adults (18 years old and above) who had first booster dose, are encouraged to participate in this trial with the potential benefits of probable improved protection from COVID-19 infections.”
According to Nazlee, Convidecia Air has unique advantages of safety, effectiveness, painlessness, convenience and availability.
“It provides a non-invasive option that uses a nebuliser to change liquid into an aerosol for inhalation through mouth which will effectively induce comprehensive immune protection against COVID-19 after just one breath,” he pointed out.
Prominent scientists like Scripps Research executive vice president Eric Topol have called on the US Government to accelerate efforts to develop inhaled and nasal spray vaccines, believing that they may better target Omicron infections than injected jabs.
“Once (Omicron) gets in through our nasal mucosa, or our oral mucosa, upper airway, that’s game over (for) infection,” Topol said recently in a podcast with US President Joe Biden’s former COVID-19 response coordinator Andy Slavitt. “The best way … to induce the mucosal immunity right at the upper airway is with either nasal or oral vaccines.” – Sept 6, 2022
