A new study reveals some potentially troubling information about the effectiveness of the Sinopharm vaccine among elderly people.
A survey of blood samples taken from 450 people in Hungary at least two weeks after their second Sinopharm dose found that 90% under 50 years old developed protective antibodies. But the percentage declined with age, and 50% of those over 80 had none.
The study has yet to be peer-reviewed.
These preliminary results echo other findings by researchers that confirm the overall effectiveness of mRNA vaccines (Pfizer & Moderna) to be significantly stronger than the inactive agents used by Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The big question now is whether the Chinese-made jabs are holding up against the Delta variant. While Chinese propaganda has been adamant that it does, scientists are not as confident, given that Chinese vaccine makers have yet to make all of their data fully available and there’s been no peer-reviewed study by international researchers.
China has shipped 472 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccines to more than 100 countries around the world.
Chinese Vaccine Development Headlines:
- CHINA’S OWN MRNA JAB IN DEVELOPMENT: Chinese pharmaceutical companies that have developed a Covid-19 vaccine using advanced mRNA technology are planning clinical trials in the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi. (SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST)
- RISING DEATH RATES IN SE ASIA PROMPT NEW FEARS: Steadily rising death rates in Indonesia, Myanmar and Malaysia, all countries that have relied heavily on Sinovac and Sinopharm jabs, is prompting newfound worries about the jabs’ effectiveness against the Delta variant. (LOS ANGELES TIMES)
SUGGESTED READING:
- The Conversation: CoronaVac vaccine: its results are patchy, but the world can’t ignore its usefulness by Michael Head
- Bangkok Post: Thailand keen to work with China on variant busters by Mongkol Bangprapa
