WHO says Sinovac COVID vaccine effective but some data lacking

Expert group says ‘quality’ data needed on adverse effects of jab, as vaccine rolled out from Brazil to Indonesia.

The COVID-19 vaccine produced by China’s Sinovac Biotech is efficacious in preventing COVID-19 in adults under 60 but some quality data on the risk of serious adverse effects is lacking, World Health Organization experts have found. The independent experts on the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) reviewed Sinovac’s CoronaVac jab from phase 3 clinical trials in China, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and Chile. The assessment came shortly after WHO SAGE experts had voiced “very low confidence” in data provided by Chinese state-owned drugmaker Sinopharm on its COVID-19 vaccine regarding the risk of serious side-effects in some patients but overall confidence in its ability to prevent the disease, according to a document seen by the Reuters news agency, which reported the news on Wednesday.