Sinopharm's two Covid-19 shots effective: study

BEIJING (Reuters): Two Covid-19 vaccines from China's Sinopharm showed more than 70 per cent efficacy against symptomatic cases, but it remains unclear how much protection they provide against severe or asymptomatic cases, according to the first detailed result of a large late-stage study published to the public.

A vaccine developed by a Wuhan-based subsidiary of Sinopharm was 72.8 per cent effective against symptomatic Covid-19 at least two weeks after second injection, based on interim results, the peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed on Wednesday (May 26).

This is slightly better than the 72.5 per cent rate announced in a company statement in February.

Another vaccine developed by a Beijing-based institute linked to Sinopharm, which this month obtained emergency use approval by the World Health Organisation (WHO), showed a 78.1 per cent efficacy, the paper said.

The readings were based on calculations over 142 symptomatic cases in a trial involving more than 40,000 participants, with 26 injected with the Wuhan unit's vaccine and 21 with the Beijing unit's shot, it said.

"There were only 2 severe cases of Covid-19 among participants, so conclusions about prevention of severe cases cannot be made," the paper said.