"Does It Really Work If It Hits?"... Renewed Controversy Over 'Chinese Vaccine Quality'

Indonesian medical staff are receiving the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinovac. [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Controversy continues over the effectiveness of Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines as countries that primarily used Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines have seen a surge in COVID-19 cases.

For example, Chile, where about 55% of the population has completed vaccination, reported approximately 3,600 new cases on the 2nd, indicating that the spread of COVID-19 has not stopped. It is known that 80% of Chile’s vaccinated population received the Sinovac vaccine. Additionally, Mongolia, where about 53% of the population has completed vaccination and 80% of those received the Sinopharm vaccine, is experiencing a situation where 20% of infections are among fully vaccinated individuals.

In the Republic of Seychelles, where the vaccination rate exceeds 70%, COVID-19 has been rapidly spreading since early May. Seychelles is a small island nation north of Madagascar in Africa, where more than 60% of the vaccines used are the Chinese-developed Sinopharm vaccine, with the remainder being AstraZeneca vaccines.

Questions about the effectiveness of Chinese vaccines have been raised consistently. The World Health Organization (WHO) granted emergency use approval for Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines, estimating their infection prevention effectiveness at 79% and 50%, respectively. This is lower compared to Pfizer (95%) and Moderna (94.1%) vaccines.

Employees are busy handling tasks smoothly to ensure a steady supply of COVID-19 vaccines at the packaging facility of the pharmaceutical company Sinovac in Beijing, China. [Image source=Yonhap News]

In Indonesia, concerns arose that the vaccines might not prevent death after statistics showed that at least 88 doctors, including 20 who had received the Sinovac vaccine between February and the 26th of last month, died from COVID-19.

In response, Professor Jin Dongyan of the University of Hong Kong’s Molecular Virology department criticized, "If the Chinese vaccines were sufficiently effective products, such reinfection patterns should not occur," adding, "China has a responsibility to resolve this issue."

There are also counterarguments. On the 3rd (local time), CNN reported that "the fact that COVID-19 is spreading in countries using Chinese vaccines does not necessarily mean that Chinese vaccines are failures." Experts emphasize that the key factor in determining a vaccine’s success or failure is the prevention rate of death and hospitalization, not achieving zero COVID-19 infections.

Government officials from Mongolia and Seychelles stated that thanks to Chinese vaccines, hospitalizations and deaths from severe cases have significantly decreased. A Mongolian health official argued, "It may not be that the effectiveness of the Chinese vaccines was poor, but rather that many people acted freely and ignored quarantine rules after only receiving the first dose, which could have caused the surge in confirmed cases."

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