Indonesia study finds China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine effective in medical staff

JAKARTA - China's Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine was 98% effective at preventing death and 96% effective at preventing hospitalisation among a group of inoculated Indonesian medical staff, a study conducted by the country's health ministry has found.

The findings were based on data from 120,000 healthcare workers in Jakarta who had received the vaccine between January and March this year, lead researcher and health official Pandji Dhewantara told a briefing on Wednesday. Phase 3 trials of the vaccine, called CoronaVac, have produced varying results globally, but Pandji said the study found it also prevented symptomatic COVID-19 in 94% of the group.