Sinovac assures its vaccine effective against Delta variant

Sinovac Biotech Ltd, the developer of the CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine, has defended the efficacy of its two-dose regime including against the Delta variant.

Company spokesman Liu Peicheng said although no data is yet available on its protective effect, studies have proven the vaccine’s efficacy in countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Chile and Turkey where the vaccine has been widely used.

“It was more than 90% effective against severe infection and hospitalisation. We also noticed that the infection rate after vaccination has been very low in these countries, and the symptoms, too, very mild in most circumstances.

“Although there is a reduction in its neutralising effect, Sinovac’s current vaccine (CoronaVac) remains effective against the Delta variant,” Liu, who is based at the company’s headquarters in Beijing, said in a written reply to Bernama.

Sinovac’s CoronaVac is an inactivated vaccine and one of the most widely used Covid-19 jabs worldwide. However, of late there have been concerns over its efficacy especially against the more contagious variants like Delta.

On July 16, the government said it would phase out the use of Sinovac’s vaccine under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK). However, 14 million doses of the vaccine will still be available to interested states and private companies from this month to September.

On the need for booster shots, Liu said while Sinovac’s research had shown a significant increase in antibody levels after a third dose, the company is still studying the necessity for it and the procedures involved.

“Sinovac is actively conducting clinical research using the new variant-specific vaccines as a third shot to boost immunity.

“The new vaccines will provide higher protection specifically against the Gamma variant and the highly contagious Delta variant.

“Upon completion of this research, we will consider whether there is a need to submit a third dose recommendation to the World Health Organization based on the findings,” he said.

Drugmaker Pfizer and its partner BioNTech recently announced that they are seeking US and European regulators’ approval to offer a booster shot, saying evidence indicates that even fully vaccinated people are at greater risk of infection as the vaccine’s effectiveness dips after six months.

In the Southeast Asian region, Sinovac, the leading vaccine developer and manufacturer in China, has so far exported over 150 million doses of vaccine to countries including to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Singapore.

In Malaysia, the Chinese company had entered into partnership with Pharmaniaga Bhd to supply in bulk 14 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine for the latter’s subsidiary, Pharmaniaga LifeScience Sdn Bhd, to conduct fill and finish production at its plant.

The first batch of the vaccine, delivered on Feb 27, was successfully rolled out on March 18 under PICK with Pharmaniaga supplying all 12 million doses of the vaccine to the government this month, earlier than the original schedule.

To date, Liu said Sinovac had delivered a total of 16 million doses of ready-to-fill bulk and finished vaccine to Malaysia in the first half of 2021 and would deliver another three million doses of finished vaccine and 4.44 million doses of ready-to-fill bulk by this month.

“The cooperation between Sinovac and Pharmaniaga has been going smoothly. With the support of Sinovac, Pharmaniaga has boosted its vaccine fill-and-finish and testing capabilities, and the vaccines produced have been approved for use by the Malaysian National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency.

“In the second half of 2021, Sinovac will continue to maintain close communication with Malaysia and do everything it can to fulfil the needs of Malaysia’s vaccination programme,” he added.