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THE CHINESE CITY of Shanghai has started administering an inhalable Covid-19 vaccine in what appears to be a world first.
The vaccine, a mist that is sucked in through the mouth, is being offered free of charge as a booster dose for previously vaccinated individuals, according to an announcement posted on an official city social media account.
Needle-free vaccines may persuade people who do not like getting a shot to get vaccinated, as well as help expand inoculation in poor countries because they are easier to administer.
China does not have vaccine mandates but wants more people to get booster shots before it relaxes strict pandemic restrictions that are holding back the economy and increasingly out of synch with the rest of the world.
A video posted by an online Chinese state media outlet showed people at a community health centre putting the short nozzle of a translucent white cup in their mouths.
#Shanghai kicked off registration and reservation for inhaled #COVID-19 vaccine #booster shots on Tuesday. The vaccination starts on Wednesday, the city government said. Booster shots can enhance immunity effects and prolong protection duration. pic.twitter.com/UL4NiMjTf5
— ShanghaiEye🚀official (@ShanghaiEye) October 26, 2022
“It was like drinking a cup of milk tea,” one Shanghai resident said in the video. “When I breathed it in, it tasted a bit sweet.”
A vaccine taken orally could also fend off the virus before it reaches the rest of the respiratory system, though that would depend in part on the size of the droplets, one expert said.
Larger droplets would train defences in parts of the mouth and throat, while smaller ones would travel further into the body, said Dr Vineeta Bal, an immunologist in India.
Chinese regulators approved the vaccine for use as a booster in September. It was developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Cansino Biologics Inc as an aerosol version of the same company’s one-shot adenovirus vaccine, which uses a relatively harmless cold virus.
Cansino has said the inhaled vaccine has completed clinical trials in China, Hungary, Pakistan, Malaysia, Argentina and Mexico.
Regulators in India have approved a nasal vaccine, another needle-free approach, but it has yet to be rolled out. The vaccine, developed in the US and licensed to Indian vaccine-maker Bharat Biotech, is squirted in the nose.
About a dozen nasal vaccines are being tested globally, according to the World Health Organisation.
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Strong Laws to protect company’s.
Weak laws for the consumer.
Big thanks to “our”government.
Always got their voters interests at heart.
@Dave Walsh: of course if the government tries to regulate companies better it gets accused of being a nanny state.
It can’t win.
@Barry Somers: say that to the thousands of customers left out of pocket every year,when company’s fail and there owners just move on.No recriminations.
Ya, thats one website I won’t be clicking on.
@Luke Sharpish:
No pun intended.
Very good reporting.
A toxic site sure who in their mind would want it or use it.
The guy behind this site has a new business set up already. Be warned.
Id put any money that this is still the same crowd running it, as Declan said and ive checked myself that the Whois is the same as it was before going broke. If this was a different group they’d have removed Cantec straight away.
@Mark McDermott: so they bought the domain from themselves?
Any info about the sale of the domain? According to whois, Cantec are still have the rights to the domain:
Domain: click.ie
Domain Holder: Cantec North East Ltd
Registration Date: 25-April-2000
Renewal Date: 30-June-2019
Smelling of Dead rat me thinks
The same people have bought this again. They also have 3 stores now.
Click Bait
Won’t click on that, no pin intended.
have your say