Vaccines everywhere? Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine has 86% efficacy

According to sources, the health ministry of the United Arab Emirates has said that an experimental COVID-19 vaccine produced by Sinopharm, a Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company, has shown 86 percent efficacy in trials held in the United Arab Emirates(UAE).

The ministry said that the analysis shows, “99 percent seroconversion rate of neutralizing antibody and 100 percent effectiveness in preventing moderate and severe cases of the disease and no serious safety concerns.”

The vaccine uses an inactivated virus unable to replicate human cells to trigger immune responses and requires two doses to be effective. Phase 3 of the clinical trials started way back in July in the UAE.

The vaccine may be late in the results of its clinical trials but it is to be noted that the candidate vaccine was already granted the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to protect frontline workers from the virus. It is estimated that around 1 million people have already received the vaccine under this authorization.

The trials were conducted in the UAE with 31,000 volunteers from 125 different nationalities taking part in the trials. The UAE trial is a partnership between Sinopharm, Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence company Group 42 (G42), and the Abu Dhabi Department of Health.

Image Source: CNBC