China Approves MRNA Vaccine To Reduce COVID-19 Omicron Variant

Omicron's COVID-19 illustration (Photo: Doc. Unsplash)

JAKARTA - China's drug regulator agrees with the CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited to market the mRNA-based vaccine it is developing. This is to overcome the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

With the approval of the China National Medical Products Agency (NMPA), CSPC became the first pharmaceutical company in China to develop a mRNA vaccine domestically.

The independently developed vaccine is targeted to combat the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the CSPC said in a statement in Beijing, Wednesday, March 22 local time.

According to the results of clinical trials, CSPS states that mRNA booster doses are able to provide a good neutrality effect against several Omicron subvariants that have and are endemicing in China, such as BA.5, BF7, BQ.1.1, XBB.1.5, and CH.1.1.

Unlike the inactivated vaccine developed by a number of pharmaceutical companies in China, mRNA is the result of engineering the genetic material component so that it can resemble germs or viruses that can trigger immune reactions.

The CSPC explains that the mRNA vaccine developed has obtained a clinical trial permit in April 2022. It has successfully conducted the first phase, second stage, and booster stages by involving 5,500 Chinese citizens.

"When China was hit by the largest wave of COVID cases from December 10, 2022, to January 18, 2023, the vaccine's efficacy rate reached 85.3 percent involving 4,000 participants," the CSPC data said.

The results of the vaccine trial also show that side effects in the elderly group are much lower than that of the adult age group. The vaccine can be stored at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius for a relatively long time.