São Paulo — Brazil officials said on Tuesday the Coronavac vaccine developed in partnership with China's Sinovac Biotech was 50.38% effective in preventing coronavirus cases, a number that meets the threshold required by global regulators for approval but that’s well below the 78% figure announced last week.
“The vaccine lowers the intensity of the disease,” said Ricardo Palacios, the medical director of Butantan. The renowned local research institute, which accounts for a large portion of Brazil’s overall vaccine production, is developing the shot in partnership with Sinovac. Localised pain was the biggest side effect of Sinovac’s shot, as well as headaches and fatigue but there haven’t been any serious adverse effects recorded, according to Butantan. Seven volunteers in the placebo arm of the trial needed hospitalisation, while none in the group who received the shot did.
“We have a good vaccine. It’s not the best in the world, it’s not ideal, but it’s a good vaccine,” Natalia Pasternak, a microbiologist and director of NGO Instituto Questao de Ciencia, said at the press conference.
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