Several countries in Southeast Asia are expected to deploy the Chinese Sinovac vaccine despite concerns over its efficacy. Data released this week from a trial of the Sinovac jab in Brazil suggested that its efficacy was 50.4 percent — lower than previously thought and only just above the requirement set by the WHO.
Indonesia has ordered 125 million doses from Sinovac and began its vaccination campaign with Indonesian President Joko Widodo receiving a jab live on television.
The Philippines has signed a deal for 25 million doses, while Myanmar has been promised a donation of vaccines by China.
Photo: Reuters
Thailand, whose biggest supplier is AstraZeneca, has ordered 2 million Sinovac doses and hopes to start administering the first batch next month.
Elsewhere, Turkey began on Thursday to administer the Sinovac vaccine to healthcare workers, after approving it for emergency use.
Health experts fear that public trust has been undermined by a series of conflicting efficacy findings, saying that a lack of data is hampering their understanding of how the vaccine works.
Turkish researchers reported that it had 91.25 percent efficacy and an Indonesian trial reported 65.3 percent, while Brazilian research teams last week said that it was 78 percent effective in preventing mild to severe cases of COVID-19, only to later clarify that this was just a partial picture.
On Tuesday, it was announced that the efficacy was 50.4 percent for all symptomatic infections, including very mild infections not requiring clinical assistance.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has defended the Sinovac shot, saying that it is “as good as any other vaccines invented by the Americans or the Europeans.”
Duterte on Thursday said that there had been a scramble for vaccines and “rich countries bought all the supplies.”
The Thai government, which has reintroduced restrictions after a new wave of cases emerged last month, said that it was requesting more information from Sinovac following the Brazil report, but it had not changed its plans.
Malaysia, where many areas are again under lockdown owing to a rise in cases, has also looked at the Sinovac vaccine, but said that it would review the company’s clinical data before going ahead.
Indonesia began vaccinating health workers this week.
“We are not waiting for a better vaccine because we do not know when it will arrive in Indonesia,” said Siti Nadia Tarmizi, COVID-19 vaccination spokeswoman for the Indonesian Ministry of Health.
Delaying any further would risk increasing the number of fatalities, she said.
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