China’s latest vaccine is made from hamster ovary cells

The cells start to make the protein, and once they reach a sizable volume they are harvested and purified. The vaccine is completed with an adjuvant, an ingredient that shores up the immune system.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences said that production of the vaccine could be easily scaled up in China and elsewhere, and that it would be convenient for storage and transportation.

But the vaccine has several drawbacks. One is that it does not produce many T-cells, which help clear infected cells and prevent them from spreading.

Without these cells, a person’s antibody levels may not be high enough to clear the infection, said Ooi Eng Eong, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the National University of Singapore. “You are more likely to get a breakthrough infection,” he said.