"Only 50% Vaccine Effectiveness" Philippine Lawmaker Opposes China's Sinovac Vaccine Statement

The COVID-19 vaccine 'Coronaback' developed by Sinovac. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Nahana] As the Philippine government announced plans to purchase the Chinese Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties expressed their opposition.

On the 25th (local time), according to local Philippine media such as Rappler, Senate Majority Leader Juan Zubiri and Opposition Leader Franklin Drilon each issued statements opposing the vaccine purchase. They based their stance on Brazilian research results showing Sinovac vaccine efficacy at only 50%.

On the 23rd (local time), the Butantan Institute under the S?o Paulo state government in Brazil announced that the Phase 3 clinical trial of the Sinovac vaccine showed a preventive effect of over 50%. However, the exact final clinical trial data was not disclosed.

Senator Zubiri pointed out, "The plan to secure a vaccine with only 50% preventive efficacy is unacceptable," adding, "It is ridiculous that even after vaccination, there is a 50-50 chance of contracting the COVID-19 virus."

Senator Drilon also emphasized, "While it is important to supply vaccines as quickly as possible, safety and efficacy must be prioritized above all else," and questioned, "How can public trust be built with a vaccine that has only 50% efficacy?"

Earlier, the Philippines announced plans to purchase 25 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine by March next year. The Philippine government is also in contact with several pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca, in addition to Sinovac.

Meanwhile, Turkey announced on the 24th that clinical trial results for the Sinovac vaccine showed a preventive efficacy of 91.25%, and plans to begin vaccinating about 9 million people starting with healthcare workers on the 28th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.