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Airport workers in Sao Paulo, Brazil unload a shipment of the Sinovac vaccine. Photo: Zuma/DPA
Opinion
As I see it
by Josephine Ma
As I see it
by Josephine Ma

Chinese authorities must try to dispel the confusion over coronavirus vaccines

  • Recent delays to the efficacy data for a drug made by Sinovac has only served to muddy the waters further
  • Building public trust in the vaccines is vital so the more transparency the better

Many waiting for the announcement of the efficacy data for a Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine on December 23 were left disappointed when the announcement was delayed for 15 days at the Chinese drug company’s request.

Instead, its Brazilian partner the Butantan Institute only confirmed that it had an efficacy of at least 50 per cent.

Butantan had already delayed the announcement once as Sinovac wanted to wait for the data from 151 infection cases for a final analysis. This time, the company wanted more time to consolidate data from the trials in Indonesia and Turkey, according to Butantan.

A source from a Chinese pharmaceutical company said the trial data had to be verified by the Chinese authorities to avoid discrepancies or disputes at a later stage, adding the authorities “feel the weight of history” on their shoulder.

The pressure faced by the Chinese government is understandable.

Many developing countries have high hopes that Chinese vaccines will fill supply gaps, while ensuring the public trusts the vaccine will also be important if the government is to meet its goal of vaccinating 50 million people before mid-February.

The information available so far is confusing.

Sinovac’s Indonesian partner Bio Farm retracted an announcement that interim data showed a 97 per cent efficacy rate in a relatively small trial of 1,700 volunteers.

On Saturday, Turkey said the vaccine had an efficacy rate of 91.25 per cent. The finding, however, was based on results from 1,322 participants.

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The picture is also unclear when it comes to vaccines from other Chinese drug makers.

The United Arab Emirates has said a vaccine from Sinopharm was “86 per cent effective against infections”. It is unclear what “infections” it was referring to as trials normally only tell how well a vaccine protects someone from infections with symptoms.

The UAE trials have also bundled together two vaccines developed by Sinopharm with different research partners, so it is not clear exactly how each performs.

An earlier claim by a Sinopharm senior executive that there were zero infections among those who received its vaccines outside the trials and had travelled abroad also proved controversial.

A Sinovac public relations executive wrote on social media that it was impossible for drug developers to track and test everyone vaccinated outside trials.

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Also, unless the drug is 100 per cent effective, there are bound to be some infections.

In face of all the confusion, the Chinese government will have to move quickly to release the data once the endpoints are reached. And it must disclose as many details as possible to garner trust.

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