The Success of COVID-19 Vaccines Depends on Mutations

SCMP Conducts Phase 3 Clinical Trial Targeting Early Chinese Variant and Variant Found in Zhejiang Province
Conducted on Healthy Adults, to be Expanded to Children and Elderly Later

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Young-shin] China has started the Phase 3 clinical trials of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, according to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 22nd (local time).

The vaccine was developed by the National Institute for Food and Drug Control in Beijing, China, SCMP reported. The vaccine efficacy was disclosed on the medical preprint site (medRxiv.org) prior to the trial, SCMP added. The trial was conducted on more than 10 clinical trial participants in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, eastern China on the 10th, showing positive results, the report said.

SCMP stated that the success of the vaccine depends on mutations. Currently, more than 4,300 mutations of the COVID-19 virus have been identified, making vaccine development challenging. The vaccine entering Phase 3 targets the initial variant and the variant found in Zhejiang Province, China. SCMP reported that the vaccine research team analyzed the entire genome sequence of COVID-19 and isolated variants with typical mutations. These variants were collected from 10 infected patients from China, Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Spain.

Healthy adults aged between 18 and 59 participated in Phase 3, and children and the elderly will be included later, SCMP said. There are currently five COVID-19 vaccines under development in China, and more than 70 worldwide. Although vaccine development requires at least one year, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has expressed that if the situation worsens, vaccine use could be approved by the end of this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.