PARIS — China’s drug regulator has approved the country’s first mixed-vaccine trial. This was revealed by Advaccine Biopharmaceuticals Suzhou, Inovio's trial partner in China on Tuesday.

The company involved in the study said that trials are being held as the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus raises concern about the efficacy of domestically produced jabs.

The trial will test the efficacy of combining an “inactivated” vaccine made by China’s Sinovac with a DNA-based one developed by US pharmaceutical company Inovio.

COVID-19 has caused a pandemic ever since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease at the end of December 2019.

With the United States being the most affected country (618,137), closely followed by Brazil with 564,773 deaths. They are followed by India with 546,733, Mexico with 245,476, and Peru with 197,102 deaths.

WHO considers that the pandemic toll may be three times greater than the officially announced toll, in the view of the excess mortality directly or indirectly associated with COVID-19.

According to preclinical research, “two different vaccine applications... produce an even stronger and more balanced immune response” according to Advaccine chairman Wang Bin. — Agencies