What a mess! Last week, the Brazilian arm of the Sinovac Phase 3 clinical trial reported that this candidate Chinese vaccine had a 78% efficacy rate. Since then, Indonesia approved and began vaccinating its people with the vaccine. However, on Wednesday, the same Brazilian team announced that the efficacy rate for the Sinovac vaccine is only 50%, if you include the mild cases.
What does this all mean for the Philippines? Some politicians are calling for the national government to cancel our order for the Sinovac vaccine. I believe that this would be premature. Though we do not know the exact efficacy of this vaccine, it is still above 50%, which is the cut-off for the WHO for a credible COVID-19 vaccine. Most importantly, the vaccine still appearsthat requires hospitalization, though the trial is still ongoing.
The reality is that there is a severe shortage of Western vaccines against COVID-19, and this severe shortage is expected to last through this year. The Chinese vaccines would fill in the gap left by the scarcity of Western vaccines. They will save Filipino lives if they can be deployed sooner than the other vaccines., the Sinovac vaccine has the added advantage that it is easily stored and transported in a regular refrigerator.
Vaccine prices vary around the world. There are reports from local newspapers that indicate that Israel is paying an average of $47 per person for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. In contrast, Western newspapers have reported that the US is paying about $30 per person for the same vaccines. Quoted prices in the Philippines found on social media from the offices of Philippine senators are higher, with a price point of $50-$80+ per person.
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