World’s 1st Omicron-specific inactivated vaccine administered in China’s Hangzhou

The first dose of COVID-19 inactivated vaccine specifically against the Omicron variant was administered on Sunday during a clinical trial in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province, bringing hope to people in the regions hit by the highly transmissible variant.

Produced by China’s state-run vaccine producer Sinopharm, the dose inoculated is the world's first inactivated vaccine against Omicron, with top Chinese epidemiologists praising the new vaccine as being of great significance.

Omicron remains a serious threat to people’s health. The previous version of the vaccine is still effective, but the development of a specific vaccine against the mutant strain will provide better immunity, said Li Lanjuan, renowned Chinese epidemiologist based in Hangzhou.

Li explained that the research into and development of the vaccine against the Omicron started on December 9, 2021, and was approved for clinical trial by the National Medical Products Administration on April 26, 2022.

The volunteer for the vaccination had not received a COVID-19 vaccine or been infected with the virus, meaning they had no antibodies.

Li said she and her team will test the effectiveness and safety of the new vaccine by measuring the level of immunogenicity and complex antibodies in the volunteers.

“I want to strengthen my immunity and meanwhile contribute to society… I feel good so far,” the volunteer told media.

Li said the next step would be to conduct clinical trials on people who have already been vaccinated to see if it is also more effective.

Zheng Zhongwei, head of China's COVID-19 vaccine development task force and official with the National Health Commission, previously told media that China's vaccine development team has been on the move since the Omicron variant emerged. “The basic principle we follow is ‘Better prepared than unprepared.’”