BEIJING -- China's drug authority has approved clinical tests for an inhaled COVID-19 vaccine co-developed by domestic company CanSino Biologics, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on March 23.

The clinical trial application of the vaccine, jointly developed by CanSino and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, was approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) on Monday, the pharmaceutical firm said in a filing on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday.

The safety and efficacy of the inhaled vaccine remain "subject to confirmation," the firm said.

The NMPA conditionally approved a recombinant vaccine for COVID-19 made by CanSino last month, which marked the first approved adenoviral vector vaccine for COVID-19.

More than 85.85 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across China as of Wednesday, the National Health Commission said Thursday.