Epigraph
Every human life is precious and sacred and saving one is like saving the whole of humanity. (Al Quran 5:32/33)
Source: Bloomberg
By Arys Aditya
The Covid-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. showed up to 97% effectiveness in early trials, according to an Indonesian company set to produce the doses locally.
The efficacy rate is based on preliminary data from a one-month clinical trial, with the final rate to be decided in January, said Iwan Setiawan, head of corporate communications at Indonesia’s state-owned company PT Bio Farma.
Abu Dhabi has started a volunteer program for Phase 3 clinical trials of Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V.
The oil-rich capital of the United Arab Emirates is initially seeking 500 volunteers, according to the Abu Dhabi Government Media Office. Russian president President Vladimir Putin announced the registration of Sputnik V in August and a second inoculation was approved in October.
Developers of the vaccine have said that initial testing showed it was 91.4% effective in preventing infections, although final results haven’t yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have said their shot is 95% effective in preventing illness.
Sputnik V will cost less than $20 in international markets for a two-shot course of treatment, making it cheaper than those produced by Pfizer and Moderna Inc., according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
The UAE has also been conducting Phase 3 trials for a vaccine developed by China’s Sinopharm Group Co Ltd., and the country granted emergency approval for its use by health workers in September.
https://www.bloomberg.com/?sref=eGA8az79
Sinovac had said earlier that 97% of healthy adults receiving lower dosage participating in its Phase 1-2 trial showed antibody-related immune response after taking its COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac..
A Sinovac spokesman said on Tuesday the company had not received efficacy readings from Phase 3 clinical trials.
Brazil’s Butantan Institute biomedical center, which is running a Phase 3 trial of CoronaVac in the country, said last week that Sinovac was expected to publish efficacy results from its vaccine trials by Dec. 15.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-indonesia-vaccine/indonesias-bio-farma-says-interim-data-for-sinovac-vaccine-shows-up-to-97-efficacy-idUSKBN28I0Y2
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Human trials of a Chinese vaccine in the United Arab Emirates have yielded positive results, the UAE’s national health authorities said Wednesday, citing an 86% efficacy rate.
The figure was announced by the UAE Ministry of Health via state news agency WAM, detailing an “interim analysis” conducted by Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG). The Gulf state of 10 million began Phase 3 human trials of the experimental vaccine in July, and in September approved its emergency use for health workers.
“The registration of this vaccine is a decision in response to the application from Sinopharm CNBG. The announcement is a significant vote of confidence by the UAE’s health authorities in the safety and efficacy of this vaccine,” the health ministry said Wednesday. The vaccine itself was developed by CNBG’s Beijing Institute of Biological Product.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/09/chinas-covid-vaccine-from-sinopharm-is-86percent-effective-uae-says-.html
As the global race to produce a Covid-19 vaccine continues, China appears to have made huge strides, with one of its vaccine front-runners, Sinovac, already making its way abroad.
Shipments of Beijing-based biopharmaceutical company Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine Coronavac have arrived in Indonesia in preparation for a mass vaccination campaign, with another 1.8m doses due to arrive by January.
But the vaccine is yet to finish its late-stage trials, which begs the question: what exactly do we know about this Chinese vaccine?
What’s the difference between Sinovac and some other vaccines?
CoronaVac is an inactivated vaccine, which works by using killed viral particles to expose the body’s immune system to the virus without risking a serious disease response.
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are mRNA vaccines – which means part of the coronavirus’ genetic code is injected into the body, triggering the body to begin making viral proteins, but not the whole virus, which is enough to train the immune system to attack.
“CoronaVac is a more traditional method [of vaccine] that is successfully used in many well known vaccines like rabies,” Associate Prof Luo Dahai of the Nanyang Technological University told the BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55212787