In order to increase the effectiveness of its CoV vaccines, China is considering mixing different preparations. Authorities need to „think about ways to solve the problem that the effectiveness of existing vaccines is not high,“ said the head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, at a conference in Chengdu yesterday, according to state media reports.
It is the first time that a high-ranking representative of China has publicly acknowledged the relatively low effectiveness of the CoV vaccines developed by China. So far, four CoV vaccines have received conditional marketing authorization in the country, and 161 million doses have been administered since the vaccination campaign started last year. Beijing’s goal is the complete immunization of 40 percent of China’s 1.4 billion inhabitants by next June.
In clinical studies in Brazil, the vaccine from the Chinese manufacturer Sinovac achieved a protective effect of only around 50 percent against infections with the coronavirus. According to the company, however, the vaccine prevents 80 percent of the severity of the disease that requires medical treatment. The two CoV vaccines from Sinopharm have an effectiveness of around 79.3 and 72.5 percent, respectively. CanSino’s vaccine protects around 65 percent against coronavirus infection.
