Sinovac Biotech vaccine effective in controlling Covid-19, new study shows

Preliminary numbers show that Sinovac’s vaccine was effective in controlling COVID-19 in a mass-inoculation study in a small Brazilian town after 75% of adults were covered with a second shot, as reported by The Irish Times.

The study carried out by the Sao Paulo state government in the town of Serrana may offer clues to how much of the population needs to be vaccinated in order to begin moving past the pandemic.

The study was led by the Butantan Institute, which produces Sinovac’s CoronaVac in Brazil. Almost two-thirds of Serrana’s inhabitants received the vaccine between February and April. About 95% of the targeted adult population received the required two doses in the study.

Serrana saw deaths fall by 95% in the five weeks right after mass-vaccination was completed. Symptomatic cases dropped by 80%, while hospitalisations decreased by 86%.

The area around Serrana was overrun by the P1 variant during the study, reaffirming the vaccine’s effectiveness against the strain first found in Brazil, said Ricardo Palacios, research director at Butantan.