A day after the US launched its first clinical trials for the novel coronavirus vaccine with human test subjects, China on Tuesday said its scientists are using five different approaches to develop vaccines for the deadly disease.
“Some vaccines for the novel coronavirus are expected to enter clinical trials as soon as possible in China,” said Chinese officials at a news conference in Beijing, Xinhua news reported.
BLOOD TYPE A MAY BE MORE VULNERABLE
“So far, most teams are expected to complete preclinical research in April and some are moving forward faster,” Wang Junzhi, an academic with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told reporters in China’s capital.
People with blood type A may be more vulnerable to infection by the new coronavirus, while those with type O seem more resistant, according to the preliminary study of patients.
While the researchers said the study was preliminary and more work was needed, they did urge governments and medical facilities to consider blood type differences when planning mitigation measures or treating patients with the virus, known as Sars-CoV-2.
“People of blood group A might need particularly strengthened personal protection to reduce the chance of infection,” wrote the researchers led by Wang Xinghuan with the Centre for Evidence-Based and Translational Medicine at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University.