CoronaVac, the coronavirus vaccine from the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac has an effectiveness of 50, 38%, according to the latest results of clinical trials published by researchers in Brazil.
These tests show that the vaccine is significantly less effective than last week’s data suggested, which gave it a 78% efficacy against covid cases – 19 “from mild to severe”.
The vaccine, which is still viable for use, barely meets the minimum of 50% of global efficacy required by the World Health Organization (WHO) and by the National Agency for Sanitary Surveillance (Anvisa) of Brazil.
“100% effective for severe cases s ”
The data were obtained with tests performed on 12. 508 volunteers in the country, all of them health professionals in direct contact with the coronavirus, the Butantan Institute, a research organization, reported on Tuesday Brazilian physician in charge of developing and manufacturing the vaccine in the country, in association with Sinovac, a biopharmaceutical company based in Beijing.
The Brazilian institute clarified that, despite the relatively low level of global efficacy of the vaccine, this was 100% effective to avoid severe cases that require hospitalization.
The vaccine “is safe, effective and has all the requirements that justify its emergency use “, said the director of the Butantan Institute, Dimas Covas.
” The study does not allow to affirm that this vaccine will eradicate the disease, but it will be able to control the pandemic through the high reduction in hospitalizations “, added Ricardo Palacios, director of medical research of the Brazilian organization.
The Butantan Institute already has 10 millions of doses of the vaccine stored, and Brazil has acquired a total of 46 millions so far.
It will begin to be applied in the state of Sao Paulo as of 25 January.
How Does CoronaVac work and in which other countries was it approved?
CoronaVac is a inactivated vaccine . It works by using dead viral particles that expose the body’s immune system to the virus without risk of serious illness.
The Chinese vaccine began to be produced by the Butantan Institute at mid december.
Brazil, with the highest number of registered cases of covid – 19 (8.1 million) in Latin America – and the third in the world, only behind the United States and India— it is the only country in the region that has authorized its emergency use for now.
It has also been acquired by Chile , which bought 20 millions of doses. Health Minister Enrique Paris said that it is expected to arrive in the country by the end of January.
Sinovac also has agreements to supply the vaccine with Indonesia, T urquía and Singap ur.
- The unusual strategy of the country that is vaccinating young people first and not the elderly against covid – 19
Chinese vaccine trials have yielded different results in different countries.
Last month Turkish researchers said it had an effectiveness of 91, 25% , while Indonesia , which launched its mass vaccination program on Wednesday, said this was from 65, 3% .
Both were provisional results of late stage trials.
China has not released information on the doses of CoronaVac that it plans to distribute in the country or on when it will begin to apply it.
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