BEIJING / SAO PAULO:An experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech appeared to be safe in a late-stage clinical trial in Brazil, preliminary results showed on Monday.
São Paulo's Butantan Institute, one of Brazil's leading biomedical research centers, which is carrying out the Phase 3 tests, said the two-dose vaccine, called CoronaVac, proved to be safe in a trial so far involving 9,000 volunteers.
But Butantan director Dimas Covas said data on how effective the vaccine is will not be released until the trial is completed on all of the 13,000 volunteers.
"The first results of the clinical study conducted in Brazil prove that among all the vaccines tested in the country, CoronaVac is the safest, the one with the best and most promising rates," São Paulo Governor João Doria told reporters.
The result is only preliminary and researchers will keep monitoring the participants in the on-going trial, Covas said. It's the first set of results of Sinovac's Phase 3 global trials, which are also being conducted in Turkey and Indonesia.
Covas said there were no severe adverse reactions to the vaccine, with 20% of the volunteers reporting mild pain from the injection while 15% reported headaches after the first dose, dropping to 10% for the second. Less than 5% reported nausea or tiredness, and even less had muscle aches, he said.
São Paulo state health secretary Jean Gorinchteyn said the vaccine appeared to produce protective anti-bodies. The state hopes to obtain regulatory approval for CoronaVac by the end of the year to start inoculating its population early in 2021, in what could the first vaccination programs in the Americas.
São Paulo signed a deal with Sinovac to buy 60 million doses by the end of February.
Sinovac wanted Brazil as a testing ground because it has been one of the global hotbeds of the virus, although cases are 43% off their peak of nearly 70,000 new cases a day in late July.
Brazil has reported more than 5.2 million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, the world's third most-affected country after the United States and India.
AstraZeneca PLC and Oxford University are nearing an analysis of their UK coronavirus vaccine trial. Pfizer Inc has said it could provide an early analysis of its trial this month, and Moderna Inc may announce its results in November. Russia's Gamaleya Institute may provide an analysis of its vaccine in the next month.
Competing candidates developed by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have had their trials halted in the United States due to safety issues.
Vaccines are considered as essential tools to curb the rampaging virus, which has killed over 1 million people globally. Brazil is also hosting a Phase 3 trial for AstraZeneca's vaccine candidate, while Johnson & Johnson said last month it aims to expand its final-stage human trials there.
CoronaVac uses inactivated vaccine technology, a traditional method that uses killed virus that cannot replicate in human cells to trigger an immune response.
Experts have warned that the safety of inactivated coronavirus vaccine candidates should be observed over longer periods, as some other inactivated vaccines had led to disease enhancement effect, where vaccine-triggered antibodies, instead of offering protection, could worsen infections when people became exposed to a virus after inoculation.
Reuters
Tue Oct 20 2020
A man works in the packaging facility of Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech, developing an experimental coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, during a government-organized media tour in Beijing, China. REUTERSpic
Sivasangari kini ranking ke-11 dunia
Jaguh skuasy wanita negara S. Sivasangari semakin menghampiri kelompok 10 pemain terbaik dunia selepas melonjak dua anak tangga menduduki ranking ke-11 dunia.
Sultan Selangor zahir dukacita, insiden menyayat hati
Sultan Sharafuddin menambah baginda amat menghargai jasa, bakti dan pengorbanan anggota TLDM yang gugur semasa bertugas.
Mayat mangsa dibawa ke HRPB untuk proses bedah siasat
Kesemua 10 mayat mangsa nahas dua helikopter milik Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) akan dihantar ke Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ipoh untuk proses bedah siasat.
10 maut Helikopter bertembung di Lumut
Dua buah helikopter milik Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM) dilaporkan terhempas ketika menjalani raptai di Kem Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) Lumut, Manjung, Perak.
AWANI Ringkas: 10 anggota TLDM maut | Subsidi bersasar
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Guru di kawasan pedalaman Sabah tinggal dalam rumah usang
Aliakbar berkata, beliau banyak menerima aduan daripada pendidik di luar bandar termasuk dari kawasan Sipitang.
'Langkah kerajaan laksana subsidi bersasar, skim baharu gaji penjawat awam berdasarkan prinsip'
Beliau berkata langkah itu juga bagi memastikan kedudukan fiskal yang lebih baik dan mengurangkan bebanan kewangan negara.
Armizan dedah ramai pemilik stesen minyak terima ugutan sindiket
Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali mendedahkan ramai pemilik stesen minyak diugut oleh sindiket sekiranya tidak membenarkan penjualan bahan api itu kepada kenderaan yang terlalu kerap mengisinya.
[TERKINI] Tragedi Helikopter Bertembung: Sidang Media Menteri Pertahanan
Ikuti langsung sidang media Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin susulan tragedi helikopter bertembung dan terhempas di Pangkalan Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM), Lumut pada Selasa. #AWANInews
Projek solar: Mahkamah dengar rayuan Rosmah pada 23 dan 24 Okt
Dalam pengurusan hari ini, Rosmah diwakili Akberdin dan Datuk Jagjit Singh manakala Timbalan Pendakwa Raya K. Mangai hadir mewakili pihak pendakwaan.
Thailand terima tambahan 800,000 dos vaksin Sinovac
Thailand menerima kumpulan kedua 800,000 dos vaksin COVID-19 Sinovac Biotech dari China hari ini.
Vaksin COVID-19: Bekas presiden Brazil terima suntikan CoronaVac
Da Silva menerima suntikan vaksin CoronaVac yang dibangunkan Sinovac Biotech.
Thailand mulakan program vaksinasi minggu ini
Thailand akan menerima kumpulan pertama 200,000 daripada 2 juta dos vaksin yang dibangunkan syarikat farmaseutikal China itu hari ini.
COVID-19: Thailand pertama kali lulus vaksin keluaran AstraZeneca
Vaksin keluaran AstraZeneca dari Itali itu diluluskan pada Rabu dan lesen import dan pendaftaran vaksin tersebut sah selama setahun.
Kematian akibat COVID-19 di Indonesia lepasi angka 20,000
Jumlah kematian kumulatif akibat COVID-19 di Indonesia kini melepasi angka 20,000 manakala kes positif baharu terus melebihi angka 6,000 kes setiap hari sejak minggu lepas.
China beri vaksin percubaan kepada Kim Jong Un dan keluarga
China telah memberikan vaksin percubaan melawan jangkitan COVID-19 kepada pemimpin Korea Utara, Kim Jong Un dan keluarganya.
Lima calon vaksin COVID-19 China masuk ujian fasa akhir, mungkin lebih murah
Seramai 60,000 individu telah menerima suntikan vaksin Sinovac melalui Program Kecemasan yang dilancarkan China sejak Julai lalu.
Indonesia peroleh bekalan vaksin susulan lawatan ke China & UAE
Lawatan rasmi ke China pada 20 Ogos lalu menyaksikan Menteri Luar Retno Marsudi mengadakan pertemuan dengan rakan sejawatannya dari China, Wang Yi.
Indonesia rancang hasilkan vaksin COVID-19
Dikenali sebagai vaksin Merah Putih, ia sedang dibangunkan oleh Kementerian Penyelidikan dan Teknologi diketuai Institut Molekul Biologi Eijkman.