[ad_1]
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Experts are currently expressing concerns about the release of fragmentary data on the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac of China. This is feared to undermine confidence in the vaccine called CoronaVac.
Citing Reuters, Sinovac delayed publishing its effectiveness because the company said it would consolidate effectiveness posts from all countries. Despite Turkey saying on Thursday (12/24/2020) CoronaVac was 91.25% effective according to an interim analysis conducted on the same day from Brazil that said the vaccine’s efficacy was between 50% and 90% %. They are said to be still awaiting the results of a comprehensive investigation in Indonesia and Chile.
Experts say that this is very difficult to understand. The reason is that they say that it is not uncommon for vaccines to show different levels of efficacy in different settings, because trial protocols, data size, and population can all influence results. But the way the CoronaVac data was released this time has caused confusion.
“You really want the data to be interesting on the first presentation; this is what Pfizer and Moderna did, less than AstraZeneca,” said Jerome Kim, director of the International Vaccine Institute, a Seoul-based nonprofit dedicated to vaccine research.
“With some ‘leaks’ of data and suggestions on this or that, you don’t see the same effect that Sinovac has; perhaps the last presentation in January is more interesting.
Previously, Turkey announced preliminary data from the Sinovac vaccine clinical trial in Turkey based on tests in 1,322 subjects and small cases of infection, experts said that more data would be needed from a large number of participants to obtain regulatory approval.
The experts further suggested that closer scrutiny of data collection and analysis is expected for the Covid-19 vaccine developed in China due to its uneven safety record.
“This has to be analyzed very clearly and transparently. And transparency is one of China’s biggest concerns, especially with its vaccines and also because of their track record,” said Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist at Griffith University in Queensland.
“So this is one of the most important and crucial moments for China to show the world how they have improved the quality of their vaccines. This is something that they have to explain to the world, of course, through scientific articles,” he added.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
(Roy / Roy)
