With evidence of The coronavirus vaccine from Sinovac Biotech Ltd. in Brazil and Turkey suggests that the shot has a 90% protection rate on both sides, there is still no final assessment on the effectiveness it has in protecting people against Covid-19.
Sinovac is finalizing the results of the phase III trials conducted in Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia and Chile, according to a person familiar with the trials. These tests are relatively independent of each other and are conducted according to different protocols, rather than subject to unified standards that usually govern these trials, said the person who asked not to be identified because the data is not public. .
Researchers from Brazil earlier this week delayed the publication of full information on the Sinovac vaccine, saying only that it was found to be more than 50% effective. Sao Paulo Secretary of State for Health Jean Gorinchteyn offered more specific guidance on Thursday, saying the vaccine “did not reach 90%” effectiveness, making it less successful than those developed by Sao Paulo. Pfizer Inc. i Moderna Inc.
“We don’t know how much it exceeded 50%, whether it was 60%, 70% or 80%, but it’s at levels that allow us to reduce the impact of the disease on our population,” Gorinchteyn said in an interview with the CBN radio from Brazil. “We knew the efficiency would never reach 90%.”
Turkey process
To the confusion, Turkey said a trial of the Sinovac vaccine taking place in his country showed an estimated efficacy rate of 91.25%. This trial, however, is based on only 29 cases, which is considered insufficient to draw a definitive conclusion on the effectiveness of the shot, according to the person familiar with the trials. The trial will continue to collect Covid-19 cases for a more complete reading, the person said.
A Sinovac spokesman declined to comment on questions about the vaccine’s effectiveness.
The delay in announcing final results has created confusion about the effectiveness of Sinovac’s shooting. Chinese developers have been slow compared to their Western counterparts in publishing effectiveness data, risking eroding confidence in these candidates as the world puts the focus which vaccines are most successful in fighting the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Pfizer and Moderna shots have been shown to reduce symptomatic cases by more than 90%.
China’s career for Covid-19 The vaccine raises safety questions
The reason Brazil has not yet revealed full efficacy numbers is because Sinovac and its partners are reviewing all Covid-19 cases found among participants, the person said. The trial in Brazil has generated more than 170 cases, but Sinovac must verify them to see if they all meet the criteria set by the Chinese drug regulator.
According to the person, regulators from China and Brazil, as well as Sinovac and its partners, are still in the process of analyzing the trial data in Brazil. Ultimately, Sinovac hopes to see unified standards to ensure equal comparisons between different test sites, the person said. The protocol for the trial in Brazil says Covid-19 cases are diagnosed according to guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The final phase trial of the Sinovac vaccine in Brazil, with approx 13,000 participants suggested the shooting is “safe and effective,” authorities at the Butantan Institute and the state of Sao Paulo said earlier this week.
Save lives
Sinovac is betting on a successful vaccine to inoculate more people around the world and save lives, especially in developing countries like Brazil that will have limited access to Pfizer and Moderna shots. The Sinovac feature is potentially more suitable for developing countries because it can be kept at normal refrigerator temperature, while Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require freezing conditions for storage and transportation.
The Sinovac vaccine has been at the center of a political dispute between Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria and President Jair Bolsonaro, who says a vaccine cannot be trusted in China. Bolsonaro once again questioned the effectiveness of the Sinovac vaccine at a Christmas Eve address posted on Facebook.
“I want to make it very clear that the label of this vaccine will be ‘we are not responsible for any side effects.’ The responsibility is yours,” he said.
– With the assistance of Andrew Rosati and Dong Lyu