Beijing, Jan 22–CoronaVac, an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd., has shown good efficacy in clinical trials and can offer broad-spectrum protection against different coronavirus strains, according to Sinovac Chairman and CEO Yin Weidong.
The phase-3 clinical trials of the Sinovac vaccine are being mainly conducted in Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey.
“Combining the data from clinical trials in the three countries, we have stronger confidence in the safety and efficacy of the vaccine,” said Yin in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.
According to Yin, clinical trial results in Turkey showed that the vaccine has an efficacy rate of 91.25 percent, and results in Indonesia showed an efficacy rate of 65.3 percent. Clinical studies in Brazil suggested that the vaccine was 100 percent effective in preventing severe cases, 78 percent effective in preventing mild cases requiring medical treatment, and has a general efficacy rate of 50.38 percent.
“It’s normal to get varying results in different countries, and the clinical trials are influenced by multiple factors,” Yin said, adding that all the participants in the phase-3 clinical trials in Brazil are medical workers in high-risk environments who might be attacked by the virus many times.
“The vaccine is expected to provide better protection for the general population,” Yin said.
The inactivated vaccine also offers broad-spectrum protection against different coronavirus strains, according to Yin.
“In collaboration with the Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, we found that the serum of volunteers who received the Sinovac vaccine can neutralize the variant strain found in Britain. We are also studying the protection offered by the vaccine against the variant strain found in South Africa and will share the results in a timely manner,” Yin said.
