RIO DE JANEIRO: The CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinaâs Sinovac Biotech Ltd showed efficacy between 50 percent and 90 percent in Brazilian trials, Sao Pauloâs state health secretary said, and full trial results will be released on Jan. 7.
Results of trials in Brazil are known exclusively by Sao Paulo stateâs Butantan Institute biomedical research center, which has an agreement with Sinovac to produce the vaccine, said health secretary Jean Gorinchteyn.
First trials showed efficacy above 50%, the minimum required by Brazilian health regulator Anvisa, and below 90%, Gorinchteyn said in an interview with CBN radio aired late on Thursday.
At Sinovacâs request, Sao Pauloâs health department has not received the Chinese drugmakerâs full trial results, he said, adding that the company will review the data before announcing final results.
Gorinchteyn said on Friday in a televised interview with the GlowboNews channel that Butantan will disclose the data trial results on Jan. 7.
The South American country has registered 7,448,560 confirmed coronavirus cases and 190,488 deaths from Covid-19, the countryâs Health ministry said on Friday.
On Wednesday, Butantan had declined to specify the efficacy rate from a trial with 13,000 volunteers, citing contractual obligations with Sinovac, raising questions about transparency.
The CoronaVac vaccine showed 91.25% efficacy in Turkey, according to an announcement on Thursday of interim data from a late-stage trial in the country. â Reuters
