China's Sinovac Shot Controls Covid In Brazil Town After 75% Covered

About 75% of the town's residents were fully vaccinated; of the target adult population, 95% came forward to receive both doses.

A study of a small Brazilian town vaccinated with the shot made by Sinovac Biotech Ltd. showed it can control Covid-19 outbreaks more effectively than expected from clinical testing, giving another boost to the Chinese-made inoculation that's relied on by dozens of developing countries. While neighboring cities were being hit hard by the pandemic, Serrana -- a town of 45,000 people where the study was carried out by the Sao Paulo state government -- saw deaths fall by 95% in the five weeks right after the mass-vaccination was completed. Symptomatic cases dropped by 80% and hospitalizations decreased by 86%. About 75% of the town's residents were fully vaccinated; of the target adult population, 95% came forward to receive both doses. No severe side effects from the vaccine were reported and there were no Covid-related deaths among participants 14 days after the second dose was applied. The area around Serrana, some 315 kilometers (195 miles) from Sao Paulo, was overrun by the P1 variant during the study, affirming the jab's effectiveness against the strain first found in Brazil, said Ricardo Palacios, research director at Butantan Institute.