Sinopharm found to be less effective in older individuals

By Ashanthi Warunasuriya

The Sinopharm vaccine appeared to be less effective in older Covid positive vaccinated individuals, according to data from a study conducted in Bahrain, Professor Neelika Malavige said.

Professor Neelika Malavige from the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine at the Sri Jayawardenepura University tweeted saying the study had found that the percentage of deaths among all PCR positive post-vaccination COVID-19 cases among recipients of the Sinopharm vaccine was 0.46% (i.e, 112 deaths) versus 0.15% for Pfizer/BioNtech (i.e., 3 deaths) and 0.03% for AZ/Covishield (1 death).

She added that the authors have however concluded that the four vaccines were effective in reducing all four outcomes (infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths) in vaccinated compared to unvaccinated individuals, prior to, and during the period when the Delta variant became dominant in the country.

The data published by Research Square notes that after censoring early vaccine recipients of Sinopharm vaccine, compared to Pfizer/BionTech recipients, individuals vaccinated with Sinopharm had a higher risk of post-vaccination infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths, especially in those above 50 years old.

The overall findings support the value of vaccination in preventing COVID-19 related events even with the advent of the Delta variant. The data support the urgent need to expand vaccination access around the world, and may serve to guide the choice of vaccines in the context of the Delta variant. (Colombo Gazette)

First study to compare the efficacy of 4 different vaccines.

In <50 years, % death among unvaccinated people were 8.1-fold higher compared to Sinopharm vaccine recipients. No deaths in <50 when given Pfizer, AZ/Covishield, Sputnik Vhttps://t.co/13dNjn6mKb

? Neelika Malavige (@GMalavige) August 26, 2021