The subunit vaccine against COVID-19 created by experts from the Academy of Military Medical Sciences was approved for clinical trials on the night of March 16, China Central Television reported on March 17. 

The team was led by senior bioengineer Major General Chen Wei. Since arriving in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, in late January, Chen and her team immediately began working on a subunit vaccine. 

The vaccine has been approved for safety, efficacy and quality by a third party. Chen said the vaccine also has completed preliminary preparation work for mass production. 

A subunit vaccine is a type of vaccine that contains only a fragment of the pathogen to stimulate a protective immune response, according to the World Health Organization. 

It is considered safer and more stable than live-attenuated vaccines, which contain a weakened version of the live pathogen, but it may not elicit as strong a protection as live-attenuated versions.