Follow CGSP on Social Media

Listen to the CGSP Podcast

China’s Vaccine Push in Developing Countries Suffers Setback After Brazillian Tests Reveal Sinovac’s Shot Only 50% Effective

by Eric Olander
A package of the experimental vaccine test for the COVID-19 coronavirus is pictured at the Quality Control Laboratory at the Sinovac Biotech facilities in Beijing. NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP

China’s ambitious global drive to provide developing countries with affordable COVID-19 vaccines suffered a major setback on Tuesday following new test results from Brazil that revealed Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine to be only 50% effective.

The findings from the Butantan Institute, a São Paulo-based public institute that is the first to complete late-stage trials of the CoronaVac vaccine, came as a big surprise because just last week the institute said Sinovac’s shot was 78% effective and offered total protection against severe cases of the disease.

…

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More

You Might Like

Our COVID Conundrum

We face a massive conundrum: while more and more global problems are coming our way, almost all our problem-solving power remains ensnared by the apparatus of the nation state.  States are inherently insular, and self-obsessed. ...

China’s “Global Public Good” Vaccine Pledge Misses the Mark

No one was really sure what to expect from President Xi Jinping’s pledge last May to make Chinese COVID-19 vaccines a “global public good.” In typical Chinese fashion, there was no explanation of ...

China CDC Director’s Vaccine Efficacy Admission Could Have Profound Implications For Africa

Gao Fu, the head of China’s Center for Disease Control, appeared to have inadvertently set off an international controversy when he admitted, for the first time by a Chinese official, that China’s ...

What is The China-Africa Project?

Independent

The CAP is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Africa stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalist and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Africa discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

Subscribe