Despite Efficacy Controversy... Chinese Sinovac "Our Vaccine Effective for Elderly"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac claimed that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe for the elderly. This is interpreted as an effort to manage the situation amid growing controversy over the efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine.

On the 5th, Sinovac disclosed the results of Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials conducted on 422 elderly individuals aged 60 and above in Renqiu City, Hebei Province, China, from May to June last year, to the state-run Global Times.

Among the participants, seroconversion was confirmed in all 24 participants of Phase 1 and 281 out of 293 participants in Phase 2. Sinovac self-assessed, "Although the elderly have weaker immunity and vaccine efficacy tends to decrease, our vaccine showed positive effects."

Side effects were described as mild or moderate. According to Sinovac, injection site pain (39 cases) and fever (14 cases) were reported but all recovered within 48 hours.

Controversy surrounding the Sinovac vaccine continues as the preventive effects vary significantly across countries conducting Phase 3 clinical trials. While Turkey and Indonesia reported preventive effects of 91% and 65.3%, respectively, Brazil barely exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended minimum efficacy threshold of 50%.

The study results were published in the international infectious disease journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Amid increasing calls for transparent information disclosure on Chinese vaccines, this move is also seen as a response to Russia’s recent release of Phase 3 clinical trial results for its COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V.

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