Chinese vaccine proves 79.34 pct effective against COVID-19 in phase-3 study

BEIJING - A Chinese inactivated vaccine shows 79.34 percent efficacy against COVID-19, according to the interim results of the phase-3 clinical trials unveiled by its developer Wednesday.

The inactivated vaccine is developed by the Beijing Biological Products Institute Co Ltd under the China National Biotec Group, which is affiliated with Sinopharm.

After a two-dose inoculation procedure, the vaccine receivers all produced high titers of antibodies, and the seroconversion rate of neutralizing antibodies reached 99.52 percent.

The results meet the requirements of technical standards of the World Health Organization and the standards stipulated by China's National Medical Products Administration.

The company has submitted an application to the NMPA for conditioned market approval.

China has adopted five technological approaches in developing COVID-19 vaccines, with 15 vaccines entering clinical trials, of which five are undergoing phase-3 clinical trials.

To protect high-risk groups, China approved the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines in June. China has already conducted nearly 1 million emergency inoculations, which were given on a voluntary, informed basis and in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

Inactivated vaccines for emergency use include two inactivated vaccines developed by the CNBG and one by Sinovac Biotech. They have all entered international phase-3 clinical trials.

About 75,000 people overseas have been enrolled in the phase-3 trials of the three vaccines, with 150,000 doses inoculated. "Study results have shown no serious safety threats," Zheng Zhongwei, an official with the National Health Commission, said in a press conference earlier this month.

Some of the Chinese vaccine developers have just obtained enough samples for the interim analysis of phase-3 clinical trials and are submitting related materials to the NMPA, Zheng has said, adding that only vaccines meeting certain standards will be allowed to enter the market.

Next, with COVID-19 vaccines officially approved to enter the market or the yield of vaccines improving steadily, China will put more vaccines into use, inoculating the eligible population as widely as possible, Cui Gang, an official with NHC's disease control department, has said.