Prognosis
Sinovac’s Low Efficacy in Hong Kong Is a Worrying Sign for China
- Sinovac appears less effective than BioNTech in avoiding death
- China moves to improve vaccination rate among people over 80
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Data indicating the Sinovac Biotech Ltd. Covid-19 vaccine is less effective than an mRNA vaccine at preventing death in elderly people in Hong Kong is a red flag for mainland China, where infections are climbing and a vast swathe of the population is inoculated with the inactivated shot.
Almost 3% of people aged 80 or older who got two doses of the inactivated CoronaVac shot died after getting infected, compared with 1.5% of those who were given the BioNTech SE vaccine, according to a preliminary analysis conducted by the Centre for Health Protection. Getting just one dose of either offered less protection, with 5.8% of those given CoronaVac and 3.4% of those given the mRNA shot subsequently dying.