CanSino Biologics Inc. has announced that its Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Vaccine (Adenovirus Type 5 Vector) (Convidecia) has been approved by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council of China as a heterologous booster, making it the first adenovirus-vectored vaccine to be included in the heterologous vaccination programme in China.

According to the State Council, for those aged 18 and above who have completed a 6-month vaccination schedule using inactivated COVID-19 vaccines, and those who have not been administered a homologous booster, being administered CanSinoBIO's Convidecia as a heterologous booster can significantly increase the neutralizing antibody levels with proven safety.

Heterologous booster vaccination refers to the use of vaccine boosters from different technology platforms from the prime vaccines, which could improve the overall immune response and enhance protection against other variants.

In addition, administering Convidecia as a booster can also induce a significant CD8+T cellular immune response, which could rapidly kill virus-infected cells and reduce the chance of severe illness and death, providing both humoral and cellular immunity.