CoronaVac induces an immune response in 97% of cases; Doria says that the 1st batch of vaccine arrives this Thursday at SP

The CoronaVac vaccine, developed by the Chinese laboratory Sinovac Biotech, is safe and can produce an immune response of the body against the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus, reported the scientific journal “The Lancet” on Tuesday evening (17). The vaccine still has the ability to produce an immune response in the body 28 days after its application in 97% of cases.

João Doria, governor of São Paulo, said that the Butantan Institute, Sinovac’s partner in vaccine testing in Brazil, must receive the first batch of vaccine, with about 120 thousand doses, this Thursday (19), the day before. expected period.

“And the vaccine from Butantã, Coronavac, arrives now, this Thursday, the first batch of vaccines has arrived. It will come in batches, ready from the Sinovac laboratory, and then we will produce it here, in Butantã itself, for Brazilians from São Paulo and Brazilians from all over the country, if the Ministry of Health understands, as it should be, that the vaccine is for everyone. . In fact, this is our defense ”, said Doria in an interview with the program Passando a Limpo, on a radio station and Pernambuco also this Tuesday (17).

The vaccine is in the final phase of testing. “We have the last phase of the investigation, the last and the last. We are probably in the last two or three weeks of this final phase of the investigation to send the results to Anvisa. We are strictly following the international vaccine testing protocol and it is also the Anvisa protocol, ”Doria told the radio.

The expectation is that Butantã will produce around 45 million doses.

Efficacy has yet to be proven

The results thus confirm the information that the researchers had released in China. The effectiveness against Covid-19, on the other hand, will have to be proven with the tests of the final stage, which are also being carried out in Brazil, with thousands of volunteers.

The study analyzed 743 patients who received immunization in the initial phases – 1 and 2 – of the clinical study: the first, measures the safety of the vaccine in the human body; the second, on the other hand, also analyzes safety and if the immunizer is capable of generating a response to the virus.

The initial two phases of the study were carried out in Suining County, Jiangsu Province, with healthy patients who had not contracted Covid-19.

According to data published by “The Lancet”, the adults were between 18 and 59 years old and were chosen at random to receive two doses of CoronaVac: some received a dose of 3 micrograms, others a dose of 6 mcg and a control group received a placebo . Also according to the study, the antibody response was induced in 28 days and with both doses.

“Our results show that CoronaVac can induce an antibody response within four weeks of administration, with two doses in the 14-day period between them.

This makes the vaccine adapted for emergency use during the pandemic, ”said one of the directors of the Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Fengcai Zhu.

Although CoronaVac is in phase 3 of human testing, therefore the last step before approval, this was the first official release of the tests. The other phase 3 vaccines had already published the results of phases 1 and 2.

Advantage?

CoronaVac is one of 48 vaccine candidates against the new coronavirus registered with the World Health Organization (WHO) and is currently in phase 3 of clinical trials.

It is based on a traditional method of immunization production, with an inactivated virus from a Sars-CoV-2 strain. Sinovac is a specialist in this type of vaccine, having been the first company in the world to develop an immunization against the H1N1 virus, for example.

“CoronaVac is one of the many anti-Covid vaccines currently being tested and it may be an attractive option because it can be kept in standard refrigeration, between 2 ° C and 8 ° C, as is the case with most vaccines used today,” including the flu shot. ”Highlighted one of the test authors and directors of Sinovac, Gang Zeng.

The official also said that, because of this, the vaccine can be kept “and be stable for up to three years, which is one of the advantages for distribution also to remote places.”

The Sinovac representative’s speech refers to the fact that two of the three vaccines that were effective in a preliminary study are made with a new technology that uses messenger RNA (mRNA) and that needs non-standard refrigeration: that of Pfizer / BioNTech must be kept at -80 ° C; Moderna can be stored at standard temperatures (2ºC to 8ºC), but must be transported at -20ºC.

Pharmaceuticals Pfizer and Moderna published preliminary phase 3 results, based on interim data analysis recently.

Pfizer’s vaccine was 90% effective, while Moderna’s was 94.5%, but the details of each result have not yet been published in scientific journals.

The Gamaleya Institute, a Russian research institution, also announced that Sputnik V, a vaccine developed in the country, was 92% effective in preventing Covid-19. Scientists have yet to review the preliminary data.

Finally, it should be remembered that even after approval, the way to apply the vaccine to the entire population is long. OR InfoMoney already showed the details in a report on the subject.

(With ANSA)