Preliminary data from a study in Brazil showed that China’s Sinovac vaccine can be effective against the new Brazilian COVID-19 variant.
A source familiar with the study told Reuters about the latest data on the Chinese-made vaccine.
The study was conducted by taking blood samples of those people who were vaccinated by Sinovac.
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A coronavirus variant found in Brazil is feared to have the tendency to reinfect those who have already survived COVID-19.
Researchers said that the Brazil variant called P.1, carries a mutation that is already known to make a variant prevalent in South Africa harder to treat with antibodies and harder to prevent with available vaccines.
Earlier data showed that those who survived COVID-19 may not be immune with P.1.
A test on the neutralizing ability of antibodies in plasma samples taken from survivors of COVID-19 caused by earlier versions of the virus was conducted by researchers.
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“Lower neutralization capacity of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and partial immunity against new variants suggests that reinfection could occur in convalescent or even vaccinated individuals,” the authors said.
In a Reuters report, the same researchers estimated that among every 100 survivors of COVID-19 due to earlier virus versions, 25-to-60 could become reinfected if exposed to the P.1 variant because their antibodies could not protect them.
The Philippines rolled out its vaccination program using the 600,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines donated by Chinese governmemt. A million more doses of the Sinovac vaccine is expected to arrive this month. (TDT)
