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The covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese biotechnology Sinovac showed an efficiency of 91.25% in tests in Turkey, according to a preliminary analysis carried out by researchers in the country and published on Thursday 24. Turkey is the second country to obtain results by Coronavac. On Wednesday 23, Brazilian authorities said that the vaccine exceeded the effectiveness threshold (50%), but the exact rate was not released, arguing that Sinovac had requested a new analysis of the information after differences between the data. from Brazil. and other countries have been observed.
According to the Turkish press, the country’s researchers, members of a government scientific council, said that no major symptoms were detected during tests in the country, with the exception of one person who had an allergic reaction.
According to the Turkish news site Sozcu, the percentage of effectiveness was measured based on the analysis of a sample of 1,300 volunteers, in which 29 cases of covid-19 were verified. Of these, 3 would be part of the Coronavac group and 26 were from the placebo group, leading to a 91% effectiveness.
However, the number of contaminants in the sample is considered small for a powered analysis. In Brazil, for example, the minimum number of infections among volunteers that a preliminary analysis would allow would be 64. As for the final analysis, it could only be carried out with more than 151 cases of the disease. According to Dimas Covas, director of Butantã, the analysis that showed that Coronavac exceeded the 50% effectiveness rate considered 170 cases of covid-19 among the volunteers.
Efficacy analyzes conducted by other pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca, were conducted with more than 130 COVID-19 cases in the sample.
Turkey had agreed to purchase 50 million doses of Coronavac until December 11, but delivery was delayed. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that the vaccines will arrive in the country on Monday 28 and will be used to immunize 9 million people in the first priority group, starting with health professionals.
“We have received the good news that the vaccine will be effective. Now is the time to better protect ourselves, until we can infuse and take effect. We will prepare for beautiful days with caution,” the minister said in a message posted on Twitter.
In Brazil, the effectiveness rate of Coronavac not yet known. This Wednesday, the government of São Paulo and the Butantã Institute, which develops the vaccine in partnership with Sinovac, postponed the disclosure for the fourth time. Local officials say the vaccine has reached the minimum required effectiveness, but the percentage is not yet publicly known.
The Butantã Institute reported that Sinovac requested the test data in Brazil for analysis, with a new deadline of 15 days. Coronavac phase 3 tests were conducted simultaneously in Brazil, Turkey and Indonesia.
Questioned by Turkey’s results report, the Butantã Institute said it “does not comment on information about Sinovac’s contracts with other countries.” “Butantã responded to a request from biopharmaceuticals with the aim of unifying the efficacy data of the vaccine. In clinical trials carried out in Brazil with 13,000 volunteers, the vaccine has already been shown to be extremely safe and with a level of effectiveness higher than that indicated by the WHO (World Health Organization), ”he said in a note.
Butantã also said that “this is a great advance, because, based on the results obtained so far, mass vaccination with the immunizer would already guarantee significant reductions in the number of hospitalizations for complications related to the coronavirus.” /WITH REUTERS
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