Sinovac, AstraZeneca over 97% effective in immune system boost

A new study highlights the often maligned effectiveness of the Sinovac and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, showing they are both quite effective in boosting the immune system against the Coronavirus. The Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology of the Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University conducted the study that found that one month after the first shot of AstraZeneca, over 97% of people had developed immune responses. Results were not yet in for the second injection.

Three weeks after the first injection of the Sinovac vaccine, just under 66% of people had developed immune responses, but four weeks after the second injection, that number jumped to an impressive 99.49%.

Without getting too technical, the total number of Covid-19 antibodies in human plasma were measured with Roche Elecsys Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay in blood samples before and after the vaccination period, along with a control group. The tests were done before and 4 weeks after the first injection for AstraZeneca, and for Sinovac they were conducted before injections, 3 weeks after the first, and 4 weeks after the second injection.

The vaccines were both proven to be more effective than even people with previous Covid-19 infections. After testing 263 Covid-19 infected patients, just over 92% developed the needed antibodies after having the Coronavirus.

Some interesting statistics that arose from the study were those of gender and age. 100% of women that received the AstraZeneca jab successfully developed an immune response and antibodies to fight Covid-19. In men however, the vaccine was only found to be 93% effective. But the outliers in men were outside of the 18 to 59 year old demographic, as everyone in that age range, male and female, were found to have developed the antibodies and immune response.

Vaccine science is complex and the studies and statistics from it can often be confusing. While the effectiveness of Sinovac by other measures have been less than ideal, this study shows that when it comes to fighting new Covid-19 infections, both Sinovac and AstraZeneca are impressively effective when properly administered.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post