CanSino Biologics has announced that its recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (Adenovirus Type 5 Vector) for inhalation (Convidecia Air) has been approved by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council of China for inclusion in Shanghai’s booster vaccination programme, marking the start of the rollout of the world’s first inhaled COVID-19 vaccine, Convidecia Air.

Adults aged 18 and above, who have been primed with two shots of inactivated vaccines or one shot of Convidecia after a six-month interval, can opt to receive one dose of Convidecia Air as a booster free of charge.

Convidecia Air was approved for clinical trial application in March 2021. In 2022, the vaccine received the Emergency Use Authorization granted by the National Medical Products Administration of China (NMPA) as a booster dose.

Convidecia, the intramuscular version of CanSinoBIO’s COVID-19 vaccine, received conditional marketing authorization in China in February 2021 and became the first and only adenovirus-vectored vaccine to be included in the country’s heterologous vaccination programme in February 2022.

Based on the same adenovirus vector technological platform of the intramuscular version, Convidecia Air has proven to be an innovative solution that provides safe and effective protection for people through a needle-free, painless and non-invasive delivery without any serious adverse events observed.