MESSAGE
| DATE | 2020-12-09 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] China has a vaccination also... and they are
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wsj.com
Chinese Covid-19 Vaccine Is 86% Effective, U.A.E. Trial Shows
Rory Jones and Chao Deng
7-9 minutes
DUBAI—A Chinese vaccine candidate showed to be 86% effective in
protecting people against Covid-19 in late-stage trials, the United Arab
Emirates said, a positive sign for the fight against the virus in the
developing world.
However, health experts cautioned that more information was needed on
the Phase 3 trials. The efficacy rate announced by authorities in the
U.A.E., where the trials took place, would put the vaccine above the 50%
threshold that international scientists deem necessary to protect
people. Candidates developed by Moderna Inc. and jointly by Pfizer Inc.
and BioNTech SE have shown to have efficacy rates of 94.5% and 95% in
the final stages of testing, respectively.
The U.A.E. Health Ministry didn’t disclose how many trial participants
developed Covid-19 and how many of those received a placebo or a
vaccine. It also wasn’t known whether the data was peer reviewed.
The results were the first from Phase 3 trials of a Chinese Covid-19
vaccine. Nearly one million Chinese people have already received the
shot, which was developed by state-owned drugmaker Sinopharm, after the
government granted emergency-use authorization for it in July.
Public-health experts said that the headline figure suggested that the
world had another working vaccine option, although more details were
needed. Some questioned why Sinopharm hadn’t jointly presented the results.
“I think it’s great news but it’s a little unusual not to come from the
study manufacturer,” said Jerome Kim, director of the International
Vaccine Institute in Seoul.
Among the details that Mr. Kim said were still needed were confidence
intervals that could give the public a sense of how reliable the
efficacy estimate was. “There are just so many questions around the way
it’s been presented.”
A U.A.E. official involved in the trial didn’t immediately respond to a
request for further information. Sinopharm didn’t respond to a request
for comment.
The U.A.E. said it had registered the vaccine, paving the way for its
wider use, having approved it for emergency use in September. The U.A.E.
government and Sinopharm haven’t disclosed the financial details of
their trial partnership.
The trial began in July, involving about 31,000 volunteers and two
different strains of the vaccine. The U.A.E. had previously said
one-third of the trial’s participants got a placebo and the remaining
two-thirds were administered one of the two strains—one developed in
Beijing and another in Wuhan.
The U.A.E. said the Beijing strain was 86% effective. It wasn’t known
whether an analysis was conducted on the Wuhan strain.
What China and Russia Could Reap From Covid-19 Vaccine Diplomacy
0:00 / 6:11
0:31
What China and Russia Could Reap From Covid-19 Vaccine Diplomacy
What China and Russia Could Reap From Covid-19 Vaccine Diplomacy
As wealthier countries buy up supplies of Western drugmakers’ Covid-19
vaccines that are still in development, China and Russia are offering
their fast-tracked shots to poorer nations. Here’s what they're hoping
to get in return. Illustration: Ksenia Shaikhutdinova
While some people who received the vaccine got infected, it said the
shot was 100% effective in preventing moderate or severe cases of the
disease. The analysis also showed 99% of participants analyzed developed
antibodies against the disease.
An 86% efficacy rate makes Sinopharm’s vaccine a potential candidate for
many countries in emerging markets that can’t immediately gain access to
vaccines from the West. Bahrain has already approved emergency use of
the vaccine, while China is also testing the candidate in Egypt,
Argentina, Jordan, Peru and other countries. Countries running clinical
trials generally have a head start in evaluating the vaccine for use by
their own people.
While Western governments are focused on launching vaccines within their
own borders, Chinese officials have talked about sharing their shot in
an effort aimed in part at strengthening diplomatic ties.
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The candidate developed by Sinopharm, or China National Pharmaceuticals
Group, is based on an inactivated virus, meaning that the pathogen is
weakened for use on humans. It can be stored at regular refrigerator
temperatures, unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, making it
an attractive option for poorer countries lacking cold-chain infrastructure.
Hani Naja, a partner at law firm Baker McKenzie who covers health-care
legislation in the U.A.E., said the health ministry doesn’t regularly
green light new medicines and vaccines, as the country’s pharmaceutical
manufacturers largely produce generics. But the regulator does have
years of experience vetting drugs that have been approved first
elsewhere, Mr. Naja said.
“It is an encouraging step,” he said. “They have been keen on making
sure the vaccine is in the country as soon as possible, but also wanted
to make sure it was safe.”
Sinopharm previously said that among the nearly one million Chinese
people who have been vaccinated, only a few of the people experienced
mild symptoms and not a single person had a serious adverse reaction.
The U.A.E. has already inoculated tens of thousands of residents with
the Sinopharm vaccine since September, offering it to airport staff,
teachers and government officials, including police officers, judiciary
employees and 30,000 armed forces personnel. U.A.E. officials have said
that none have gotten sick with Covid-19.
By contrast, Western companies sought government approvals to market
their candidates to the public once clinical trials were complete.
China has three other Covid-19 experimental vaccines in late-stage
trials. Brazil, which is testing Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s CoronaVac, is
expected to release efficacy results in the coming days.
Results from early clinical trials of CoronaVac showed that it induced
antibodies in volunteers, although at lower levels than those seen in
people who were previously infected with Covid-19.
China has had to venture overseas to conduct clinical trials on its
vaccines as it has successfully controlled the coronavirus at home.
Sinopharm executives have said the U.A.E. was chosen for trials due to
its diverse population: Only about 10% of the country’s nearly 10
million residents are Emiratis, with the remainder largely from Asia,
Europe and the U.S.
Corrections & Amplifications
An earlier version of this article misspelled Pfizer. Also, an earlier
version of this article incorrectly identified Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, as crown prince in the photo caption. He
is a former crown prince. (Corrected on Dec. 9, 2020)
Write to Rory Jones at rory.jones-at-wsj.com and Chao Deng at Chao.Deng-at-wsj.com
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