The authorities in Mozambique have started a year-long clinical trial of how well a combination of different vaccines, one from China and the other from the United States, protects adults against COVID-19, Xinhua reports.

The vaccines are the BBIBP-CorV vaccine devised by Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd of China, and the vaccine devised by Johnson & Johnson of the United States, The Chinese government-run news agency says.

It  quotes Mozambican National Health Institute Director-General Ilesh V. Jani as saying 360 volunteers will get one dose of each, 28 days apart.

There is evidence that the combination can guarantee protection against COVID-19 in the medium and long terms, and strengthen community immunity to the disease, Xinhua quotes Mr Jani as saying.