China has given conditional approval for a recombinant protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine developed by domestic company Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical, the National Medical Products Administration said on Wednesday.

The vaccine uses purified pieces of the virus' protein to trigger an immune response. It is the first vaccine based on this technology to be approved by the top drug regulator.

In total, five COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for public use in China so far.