The company’s findings are in contrast with those released on Tuesday in a preprint paper by the HKU researchers….reports Asian Lite News
China’s biotech firm Sinovac claimed that a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine is 94 per cent effective against the Omicron variant of the COVID-19.
This comes a day after a study found that the two doses of the vaccine failed to generate any detectable antibody response against the fast-spreading variant.
The study was conducted by the company on 20 people who received two shots and another 48 who received three shots. Seven in the first group and 45 in the second tested positive in neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant, the company said in a statement to the Global Times.
Sinovac said that the data demonstrated that the administration of a booster shot of its vaccine can effectively enhance the vaccine’s neutralizing capacity to the Omicron variant, read the statement.
The company’s findings are in contrast with those released on Tuesday in a preprint paper by the HKU researchers.
The university study also examined neutralising antibodies, one arm of immune response that serves as a rough marker for protection against infection.
Of 25 people who received a full two-dose course of CoronaVac, none were found to have detectable levels of neutralising antibodies, according to study author and top infectious disease expert Yuen Kwok-yung and his team.
The Omicron variant, first discovered in early November, has been reported in 77 countries and regions, according to the World Health Organization.
Meanwhile, Sinovac and Sinopharm are China’s leading vaccine makers, and both manufactures are not preferred ones in countries that have access to others, according to Voice of America.
Dr. Andrea Cox, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with a special interest in immunization, has provided expert advice on COVID-19 vaccines.
“Chinese vaccines are not as effective as the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, so they aren’t the preferred jabs in countries that have access to the others,” he said.
“That scientist takes a type of bacteria — or in this case, a virus — and inactivate or kill it. They then inject it into people. Because the virus is dead, it can’t infect anyone. Then, if a vaccinated person is exposed to the live virus, that person’s body recognizes it and fights it off, ” he added.
The hnsays the Sinovac vaccine is about 50% effective, while Sinopharm’s effectiveness is higher, at 78%, World Health Organization reported.
Earlier, World Health Organization says safe and effective vaccines are a game-changing tool, but it recommends continued mask-wearing, frequent hand-washing, good indoor ventilation, physical distancing and avoiding crowds, Further, it recommends getting, getting vaccinated. (ANI)