2 Vaccines From China's Sinopharm Successfully Contained Covid: Study

The two inactivated vaccines developed by Sinopharm's vaccine-making unit China National Biotec Group Co. prevented symptomatic infections by 72.8% and 78.1%, largely in-line with what the state-owned drugmaker previously announced.

Vaccines from China's Sinopharm successfully contained Covid-19, according to a study published in a prestigious U.S. medical journal, the first time detailed findings from a late-stage trial of a Chinese shot have appeared in the scientific literature. The two inactivated vaccines developed by Sinopharm's vaccine-making unit China National Biotec Group Co. prevented symptomatic infections by 72.8% and 78.1%, largely in-line with what the state-owned drugmaker previously announced. The findings were reported in the May 26 Journal of the American Medical Association. Chinese shots, including those from Sinopharm and Sinovac Biotech Ltd., another Beijing-based vaccine maker, have formed the backbone of the vaccine rollout in developing countries ranging from Hungary and Serbia to Seychelles and Peru. The immunizations have come under scrutiny and their manufacturers have been criticized for not sharing adequate data about the shots' safety and efficacy. The lack of transparency fueled doubts about the shots' ability to contain Covid, especially after cases continued to spike in countries such as Seychelles and Chile that used them to vaccinate a sizable share of their populations. It also stalled approvals by stringent drug regulators and the World Health Organization. While Hong Kong waived the requirement for a peer-reviewed publication to approve the Sinovac vaccine earlier this year, regulators in Singapore are still demanding additional data.