Sinovac vaccine 71% to 91% effective against Alpha variant, Thai study shows

Thailand’s Public Health Ministry says 2 doses of the Chinese-made Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine are 71% to 91% effective against the Alpha variant of the virus which was first detected in the UK.

A study on the effectiveness of the Sinovac vaccine, also known as Coronavac, was done by Thailand’s National Communicable Diseases Committee and the National Vaccine Committee. The study was done in April and May when the Alpha variant, known as B.1.1.7, was prevalent.

Researchers studied those in high-risk areas in Phuket, Chiang Rai and Samut Sakhon, which is just southwest of Bangkok, as well as public health workers.

The findings…

• Double doses of the Sinovac vaccine were 71% to 91% effective against the Alpha strain.
• For subjects in Phuket, the vaccine was 90.7% effective.
• For the subjects in Chiang Rai, the vaccine was 82.8% effective
• For public health workers, the vaccine was 70.9% effective.

Researchers are now gathering data to determine the effectiveness of the Sinovac vaccine against the Delta Covid-19 variant which was first detected in India.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post