PIECEMEAL DATA RELEASES UNDERMINE SINOVAC’S VACCINE EFFICACY

Fragmental releases of efficacy data for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac undermines confidence in the shot, experts warned, Reuters reported.

Turkish researchers said Sinovac’s CoronaVac was 91.25% effective based on an interim analysis only to see a confusing readout the same day from Brazil which said the vaccine’s efficacy was between 50% and 90%.

Brazil also delayed release of its efficacy data on the vaccine three times, as Sinovac seeks to consolidate data from global trials that include Indonesia, Turkey and Chile.

The efficacy data is closely watched as many developing countries have signed deals to use the Sinovac vaccine which is easier to store and transport but reportedly more expensive than rival shots developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech and Moderna.

Some experts warned greater scrutiny on data compilation and analysis was expected for COVID-19 vaccines developed in China due to its patchy safety track record.

“This should be analyzed very clearly and transparently. And transparency is one of the biggest concerns for China, especially with their vaccine and also because of their track record,” said Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist at Queensland’s Griffith University.

“So this is one of the very important and crucial times for China to show the world how they have improved the quality of their vaccines... This is something they have to explain to the world through scientific papers.

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