TYB!
China launches a world-first COVID-19 vaccine inhaled through the mouth
Key points:
The vaccine, developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company CanSino, was approved in September
It will be offered for free as a booster dose
Regulators in India have approved a nasal vaccine but this has not yet been rolled out
The Chinese city of Shanghai started administering an inhalable COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday in what appears to be a world first.
The vaccine, a mist that is sucked in through the mouth, is being offered for free 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 more people to get vaccinated and help expand vaccination in developing countries, as they are easier to administer.
China doesn't have vaccine mandates but wants more people to get booster shots before it relaxes strict pandemic restrictions that are holding back the economy.
A video posted by an online Chinese state media outlet showed people at a community health centre sticking the short nozzle of a translucent white cup into their mouths.
Accompanying text said that after slowly inhaling, one individual held his breath for five seconds, with the entire procedure completed in 20 seconds.
"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 in the mouth 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.
Dr Vineeta Bal, an immunologist in India, said larger droplets would train defences in parts of the mouth and throat, while smaller ones would travel further into the body.
Chinese regulators approved the vaccine for use as a booster in September.
It was developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics Incorporated 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 is 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 Organization.
AP
https: //www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-26/china-launches-a-covid-19-vaccine-inhaled-through-the-mouth/101582352
This T-shirt is my treasure. It is so precious that I display it in my room. I am happy to post again 8kun. Thank you for creating a place where we can unite and fight for the world.
God bless you. #WWG1WGA
Japan PM Kishida greets visiting former US Secretary of State Kissinger
Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has met with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Tokyo.
The 99-year-old Kissinger visited the prime minister's office on Wednesday. Their talks lasted about half an hour.
Details of the discussions have not been made known. But Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu told reporters he is aware that the two exchanged views on international developments.
Kissinger visited China in secret in 1971, during Richard Nixon's presidency, and is credited with paving the way for normalizing US ties with China.
He is also known to have helped shape former US President Barack Obama's pursuit of a world without nuclear weapons.
It is believed Kissinger and Kishida discussed the latest developments in China, as well as efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons, which have hit a snag against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
https: //www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221027_03/
I only learned the name of that fossil when I joined the Q movement (2019 - but 8kun learned it around last year) I still don't know much about politics, but MEME made me realize that there is a lot of world I don't know, that I have been living in the wrong world, and many other things. I realized that there are many things about the world that I don't know. I love this place where I can access a lot of information and archives left by our predecessors. I may not be able to reply after this. Thank you for your communication.Have a nice day!