São Paulo Health Secretary Admits Coronavac’s Efficacy Lower Than 90%

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to São Paulo Health Secretary Jean Gorinchteyn, the Coronavac’s efficacy fell below 90%. The statement was made in an interview on Thursday afternoon, December 24th.

Also on Thursday, the Turkish government announced that the preliminary results of tests conducted in that country, with just over 1,300 volunteers, showed an efficacy of 91.2%.

According to Gorinchteyn, Sinovac found differences in efficacy in the various countries where trials were conducted, with Brazil presenting a lower figure. Therefore, the Chinese pharmaceutical giant wanted to review the data.

The Secretary said that the vaccine‘s efficacy observed in the Brazilian trial with 13,000 people should be announced within 15 days.

The Secretary was not surprised that the Coronavac presented an efficacy below 90%, considering that it is produced with an inactivated virus (the Sars-CoV-2), a less immunogenic vaccine platform.

“They produce a lower protection. The flu vaccine ranges from 40% to 80% in certain groups,” Gorinchteyn said. “We knew that it would never reach 90% efficacy. But what we didn’t realize was that the company wanted unicity, a very close result in every country.”

In any case, the Secretary reiterated the value of the vaccine being over 50% effective (which he claims to be the case), to reduce the number of deaths.

“Our only way to change this is by having a vaccine that is effective,” Gorinchteyn said of the pandemic.

Another important factor, mentioned on Wednesday, December 23rd by Dimas Covas, director of the Butantan Institute, is the fact that among all the volunteers immunized in Brazil, none presented a severe reaction to Covid-19.

Despite the delayed release, the Secretary said that plans to start vaccination on January 25th, in São Paulo remain in place, initially to healthcare professionals, the elderly, indigenous, and long-term institution residents.

Gorinchteyn further said he hopes that the Coronavac will be included in the national immunization plan.

Source: Folhapress