Sinovac Biotech Ltd’s vaccine is wiping out Covid-19 among health workers in Indonesia , an encouraging sign for the dozens of developing countries reliant on the controversial Chinese shot, which performed far worse than Western vaccines in clinical trials . Indonesia tracked 25,374 health workers in capital city Jakarta for 28 days after they received their second dose and found that the vaccine protected 100 per cent of them from death and 96 per cent from hospitalisation as soon as seven days after, said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in an interview on Tuesday. The workers were tracked until late February. Sadikin also said that 94 per cent of the workers had been protected against infection – an extraordinary result that goes beyond what was measured in the shot’s numerous clinical trials – though it is unclear if the workers were uniformly screened to detect asymptomatic carriers. “We see a very, very drastic drop,” in hospitalisation and deaths among medical workers, Sadikin said. It is not known what strain of the coronavirus Sinovac’s shot worked against in Indonesia, but the country has not flagged any major outbreaks driven by variants of concern. The data adds to signs out of Brazil that the Sinovac shot is more effective than it proved in the testing phase, which was beset by divergent efficacy rates and questions over data transparency. Results from its biggest Phase III trial in Brazil put the shot known as CoronaVac’s efficacy at just above 50 per cent , the lowest among all first-generation Covid-19 vaccines . Coronavirus: Sinovac vaccine gives 70 per cent less protection against South African variant In a separate interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, Sinovac’s CEO Yin Weidong defended the disparity in clinical data around the shot, and said there was growing evidence CoronaVac is performing better when applied in the real world. But the real-world examples also show that the Sinovac shot’s ability to quell outbreaks requires the vast majority of people to be vaccinated, a scenario that developing countries with poor health infrastructure and limited access to shots cannot reach quickly. In the Indonesian health worker study, and another in a Brazilian town of 45,000 people called Serrana, nearly 100 per cent of people studied were fully vaccinated, with serious illness and deaths dropping after they were inoculated. In contrast, Chile saw a resurgent outbreak after vaccinating over one-third of its population of 19 million – one of the fastest rates in the world, but not fast enough to stop the spread of the aggressive variant sweeping Latin America. “The earliest group of people vaccinated in Chile are old people. Less than 15 million of doses given to Chile means only 7 million people can get our shots. That equals to only 36 per cent of a population of 19 million,” Yin said. “It’s normal that the country sees a resurgence of infections as social activities increase among the younger people who are mainly not inoculated.” Among people vaccinated with CoronaVac in Chile, 89 per cent were protected from serious Covid-19 that requires intensive care, Yin said. The vaccine’s protection is likely to vary from place to place because of virus variants, but Sinovac’s shot appears to be holding up well against the new mutations of concern, he said. The results from real world application and the scientific data we have from clinical trials will allow the world to judge our vaccine comprehensively Yin Weidong, Sinovac CEO A key question for all Covid-19 vaccines is whether they can prevent or deter actual transmission of the virus. Yin said on Tuesday that Sinovac does not yet know if its shot – a traditional inactivated vaccine – can stop or reduce the virus from being contracted in the first place, but the fact it is preventing serious illness and death is more important. The mRNA shot developed by BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. has been shown to be more than 90 per cent effective in preventing transmission in Israel . While non-mRNA vaccines are unlikely to be that effective in preventing transmission, the growing body of evidence that Sinovac’s shot works is a boon to China ’s mission of supplying the developing world in a bid to increase its influence and standing. It’s also somewhat of a vindication amid criticism that Chinese vaccine developers disclosed less data and were less transparent about severe adverse events compared with Western companies. How China took an unlikely lead in the global supply of Covid-19 vaccines “The results from real world application and the scientific data we have from clinical trials will allow the world to judge our vaccine comprehensively,” Yin said. “We encourage our partners and governments in countries where our vaccine is being used to release such data as soon as possible.” Indonesia was one of the earliest countries to place its bets on a Chinese vaccine. In January, President Joko Widodo became the first major world leader to receive the Sinovac shot in a bid to quell scepticism at home and abroad. Since then, Southeast Asia’s largest economy has administered more than 22 million doses, mostly Sinovac, as it seeks to reach herd immunity for its 270-million strong population by year-end. “The minimum efficacy rate should be above 50 per cent, so beyond that, the best vaccine is the one you can get as soon as possible, as every shot given can prevent deaths,” Health Minister Sadikin said. “It isn’t only about getting the highest efficacy rate, but inoculating people quickly.” While neighbouring Malaysia and Thailand are seeing a resurgence in cases, Indonesia’s rate of new infections and deaths has stabilised since a January peak. But with its massive population still mostly unprotected, the upcoming Eid holiday could cause cases to rebound by as much as 60 per cent as people gather with family and travel home despite government restrictions, Sadikin warned. World Economic Forum says Singapore meeting still on The World Economic Forum plans to go ahead with its annual meeting in Singapore this August despite a jump in coronavirus cases that prompted the Asian city state to reimpose restrictions and tighten border controls. “The meeting will proceed with the close cooperation of the Singaporean authorities, who are leading concerning the health and safety measures,” said Yann Zopf, a spokesman for the Geneva-based organisation. “We will collaborate to provide the safest possible environment for a global gathering at scale.” Singapore may have to ‘learn to live’ with Covid-19, minister says Singapore last week curbed entry for most foreign workers and ordered mass testing after new cases of the virus in the city of 5.7 million. The World Economic Forum’s marquee event, typically held in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, is scheduled for August 17-20. Leaders from government, finance, academia and business are being invited. Social-distancing rules will keep attendance below the usual 3,000. The plan is to establish a dedicated event zone in hotels in the centre of Singapore. Samsung BioLogics denies report on Pfizer tie-up Samsung BioLogics Co Ltd on Wednesday said a report it was in talks with Pfizer Inc to begin production of the US drugmaker’s Covid-19 vaccine in South Korea as early as August was “not factual.” The Korea Economic Daily reported earlier that the biotech arm of Samsung Group had been revamping production lines at its plant in Songdo to produce the Pfizer vaccine, which was jointly developed by BioNTech. The plant had the capacity to make up to 1 billion doses per year, the report said, quoting an unnamed high-level government official. Samsung BioLogics said in a one-line filing to the stock exchange that the report was “not factual”. The company did not respond to requests for more detail. Korean dairy firm in sticky spot after claim its yogurt kills Covid-19 Pfizer said its current production strategy was centred on its two dedicated supply lines in the US and Europe, which exclusively manufacture its vaccine for global use. “At this time we are not in discussions for any additional manufacturing outside these established supply lines for this vaccine,” Pfizer said in a statement. “Once the pandemic supply phase is over and we enter a phase of regular supplies, Pfizer will certainly evaluate all additional opportunities available.” South Korea’s central disaster management headquarters in charge of Covid-19 vaccine procurement said it was not in a position to comment on the report. South Korea has a contract with Pfizer to purchase 66 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine. The country also has contracts to acquire a total of 192 million doses from other developers including Moderna Inc, AstraZeneca Plc, Johnson & Johnson’s and Novavax. Reporting by Bloomberg, Reuters