Coronavirus: fuller picture of Chinese vaccine data but WHO group finds figures lacking for over 60s
- Advisory group assesses vaccines by Sinopharm and Sinovac Biotech ahead of their evaluation for WHO emergency authorisation
- Concern that not enough data is available about effects of these vaccines on elderly and medically vulnerable patients
The new release of data and assessments about the vaccines come from an April 29 meeting of a strategic advisory group that issues recommendations about how to use WHO-listed vaccines. The group is not responsible for deciding whether they are licensed.
Experts who were not in the group say the information shows the vaccines appear to pass the WHO’s bar for efficacy but leaves questions, including about safety and efficacy for high-risk groups and older adults.
“The problem is not that there is a concern that the [Sinopharm] vaccine has an extremely high rate of adverse effects [in the elderly] … the issue is the lack of data to show it does not,” said Jin Dong-yan, a professor at the University of Hong Kong’s medical school.
In its evaluation, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) found a “high level of confidence” that the two-dose Sinopharm vaccine was efficacious in preventing Covid-19 in adults aged 18 to 59, and was “moderately confident” that the risk of severe adverse events was low. The efficacy was listed overall as 78 per cent.
However, when this information was evaluated for older adults, the confidence levels sank. The group judged a “low level” of confidence in the quality of evidence that the vaccine was effective in people over 60, and had a “very low level of confidence” about data on the risk of severe adverse events in this group.