RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – The CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd in China, showed an efficacy of between 50% and 90% in Brazilian studies, said Sao Paulo State Secretary of Health, and the Brazilian producer said full investigation results will be released by January 7th.
Results of trials in Brazil are known exclusively by the Butantan Institute’s biomedical research center in Sao Paulo, which has entered into an agreement with Sinovac to produce the vaccine, said health secretary Jean Gorinchteyn.
Initial studies showed efficacy of more than 50%, the minimum required by Brazilian health regulator Anvisa, and less than 90%, Gorinchteyn said in an interview with CBN radio broadcast late Thursday.
At Sinovac’s request, Sao Paulo’s health department has not received the full study results from the Chinese drug manufacturer, he said, adding that the company will review the data before announcing final results.
Butantan will announce the results of the data test in 15 days or by Jan. 7, the institute said in a note Friday.
The South American country has recorded 7,448,560 confirmed coronavirus cases and 190,488 deaths from COVID-19, the country’s Ministry of Health said Friday.
On Wednesday, Butantan had declined to specify the efficacy rate of a study involving 13,000 volunteers, citing contractual obligations with Sinovac, raising questions about transparency.
The CoronaVac vaccine showed 91.25% efficacy in Turkey, according to a Thursday announcement of interim data from a late-stage study in the country.
Reporting by Sabrina Valle; edited by David Goodman and Dan Grebler