On  June 3, Chen Wei said at the Pujiang Innovation Forum that the  inhalation-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by CanSino Biologics and her  team has been submitted for consideration for emergency use in the  country. Chen Wei, a native of Lanxi, is an academician at the Chinese  Academy of Engineering and a researcher at the Academy of Military  Medical Sciences.

This inhaled vaccine uses a nebulizer to atomize the nasal spray vaccine into tiny particles, which enter the respiratory tract and lungs through inhalation, and thereby stimulate mucosal immunity. It is less painful than traditional intramuscular injections and more convenient and conducive to mass vaccine distribution.

As  for the public concern about the virus variants’ impact on the  effectiveness of vaccines, Chen said that the team has been conducting  bioinformatics analysis, currently focusing on five variants. She also  remarked, “We hope that the effectiveness of the vaccine can be enhanced  and thus cover the variants.” (By Yang Yizhi, translated by Shen  Yingying, edited by Mariam Ayad)