RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Chinese laboratory responsible for the production of the Sinovac vaccine confirmed this week the opening of a plant in Chile to produce the drug for the whole of Latin America.
Chilean government sources confirmed that the plant could be located in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago and that Antofagasta is also under consideration, although operations will only begin in March next year.
“We will become not only a country that produces vaccines again, but also a hub of excellence in Latin America,” said the rector of the Catholic University of Chile Ignacio Sanchez Diaz, at the announcement press conference.
Chile’s Minister of Health Enrique París said that “Chile is announcing its resumption of national vaccine production” and that “once the plant produces vaccines here, it will be able to export them to Latin America.” “This wonderful day attests to what the country has done in the scientific field,” the Minister of Health added.
Sinovac’s headquarters in Chile will also operate as the laboratory’s research center in the region and, from there, drugs will also be exported to other South and Central American countries.
Economy Minister Lucas Palacios was also present at the press conference, and explained that the plant “will be ready in the first quarter of 2022” and that it is expected to produce some 50 million vaccines per year.
Negotiations between the Chinese laboratory and the government of Sebastián Piñera stretched for a little over a month, until an agreement was reached between both parties.
Study shows high vaccine efficacy in Chile
A new study conducted in Chile with thousands of people immunized against Covid-19 confirmed the high efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine, despite the development of new variants of the disease.
According to the study, the Chinese vaccine proved 58.5% effective in preventing coronavirus symptoms, 86% effective in preventing hospitalization, almost 90% in preventing admission to an Intensive Care Unit, and 86% in preventing the patient’s death.
As repeatedly stated, vaccines are not 100% effective against the disease and therefore some people may develop the virus; however, in the vast majority of cases, people will be protected against Covid-19, which is why governments and organizations worldwide continue to call on people to be vaccinated on a massive scale.
Dr. Rafael Araos, one of the scientists who led the study, told Chile’s La Tercera newspaper that the Chinese vaccine maintains its efficacy against Covid-19 in all cases. “Sinovac continues to show substantial evidence of efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 for hospitalization, ICU admission and death,” the doctor detailed.
A couple of weeks ago, the country’s Ministry of Health published a study with almost 10 million participants and the results were quite similar, with the vaccine showing 87% efficacy in preventing hospitalization due to coronavirus.
In the case of the Pfizer drug, which was also included in the study, the experts found that the North American laboratory’s vaccine was 87% effective in preventing symptoms of the disease; the percentage rose to 97.1% efficacy in preventing hospitalization; 98.2% in preventing admission to intensive care and 100% efficacy in preventing death.
For AstraZeneca, efficacy against symptoms reached 68%; 100% efficacy against hospitalization; and 100% efficacy against death.