Shanghai Municipality, east China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of mice in box
2. Various of researchers at work
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Liu Zhongmin, President, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine(partially overlaid with shot 4):
"The mouse testing is just a preliminary screening for candidate vaccines. After screening out effective antibodies against this virus, the candidate vaccine will continue to go through a toxicological test, which will need larger animals that are similar to human beings for safety test, such as machin. All of these should be done before applying for clinical testing."
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4. Various of researchers at work, giving injection to mouse
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5. Various of mice in box
6. Various of researchers at work
7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Liu Zhongmin, President, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine(starting with shot 6):
"The mRNA-based vaccine technology is one of the world's most advanced and unique technologies to produce vaccine. It features a shorter preparation time and higher efficiency."
8. Various of researchers at work
9. Centrifuge tubes
10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Li Hangwen, CEO, Stemirna Therapeutics (partially overlaid with shot 11):
"We have prepared nine to 12 different antigens for the vaccine samples. If the animal test fails, we will continue to improve the formulation of the vaccines."
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11. Centrifuge tubes
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12. Various of researchers at work
13. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Li Hangwen, CEO, Stemirna Therapeutics (partially overlaid with shot 14):
"Generally, a vaccine needs to pass three steps of clinical testing. The period of time may last from several months to several years based on the number of clinical tests and number of people who have taken the tests."
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14. Researcher at work
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15. Various of researcher at work

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China, scientists in various pharmaceutical companies and other institutions have tried to create a vaccine to stop its spread. Recently, a Shanghai company produced samples of a new vaccine which has just been tested on animals.

Animal testing is a must for any vaccine before it is put to clinical use. Researchers at Tongji University in Shanghai are using some healthy mice to test some of the latest vaccine samples against the novel coronavirus.

"The mouse testing is just a preliminary screening for candidate vaccines. After screening out effective antibodies against this virus, the candidate vaccine will continue to go through a toxicological test, which will need larger animals that are similar to human beings for safety test, such as machin. All of these should be done before applying for clinical testing," said Liu Zhongmin, president at the Shanghai East Hospital at Tongji University School of Medicine.

President Liu said over 100 mice will be needed to perform the test. After being injected, the mice will be labeled and taken care of in labs.

Scientists said it will take several days to see whether these mice will produce antibodies to prevent the virus.

To guarantee its objectivity, animal tests with the same vaccine samples are also conducted simultaneously at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes for Food and Drug Control in Beijing.

"The mRNA-based vaccine technology is one of the world's most advanced and unique technologies to produce vaccine. It features a shorter preparation time and higher efficiency," said Liu.

Those vaccines are co-designed and developed by China CDC, Tongji University and a Shanghai vaccine company.

After getting the antigen from China's CDC in late January, the vaccine company spent two weeks producing these multiple types of m-RNA vaccine samples.

"We have prepared nine to 12 different antigens for the vaccine samples. If the animal test fails, we will continue to improve the formulation of the vaccines," said Li Hangwen, CEO of Stemirna Therapeutics, a high-tech biotechnology company.

To create an effective vaccine is never an easy job. At present, dozens of domestic and global companies and institutions have invested huge amounts of money and time in creating a vaccine for this novel coronavirus.

"Generally, a vaccine needs to pass three steps of clinical testing. The period of time may last from several months to several years based on the number of clinical tests and number of people who have taken the tests," said Li.

If the animal tests go well, Li hopes they can begin further clinical trials as early as April. Although people want a cure that ultimately ends the coronavirus epidemic soon, scientists said effective vaccines must undergo rigorous testing before being put to clinical use.