China approves three COVID-19 vaccines for clinical trials

China has approved three COVID-19 vaccine candidates for clinical trials, said an official with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) on Tuesday.

An adenovirus vector vaccine, developed by a research team led by Chen Wei, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a researcher at the Institute of Military Medicine under the Academy of Military Sciences, was the first to be approved to enter clinical trials, said Wu Yuanbin, director-general of science and technology for social development with the MOST, at a press conference.

The first phase of the clinical trial was completed at the end of March, and the second phase started on April 12.

It is the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world that has entered the second phase of clinical trials, according to the World Health Organization.

Accompanied by his daughter, Xiong Zhengxing, an 84-year-old man in Wuhan, was vaccinated on April 13, becoming the oldest volunteer in the second phase of the clinical trial.