Sinovac vaccine may not work against new Brazil variant, study says

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine may not produce sufficient antibody responses against the new variant in Brazil based on a small-scale study.
• Researchers said that plasma samples from eight vaccinated people failed to efficiently neutralize the P.1 lineage variant.
• The company’s chief executive said on Thursday that they are “fully capable” of developing a new vaccine if necessary.

Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine may not be effective enough against the new variant in Brazil.

A small sample lab study showed that Sinovac may not generate sufficient antibody responses against this new variant, raising concerns that the vaccine development based on the previous strains may not be a strong defense against new variants.

According to researchers, eight people were vaccinated with Sinovac’s CoronaVac and their plasma samples failed to efficiently neutralize the P.1 lineage variant, or 20J/501Y.V3.

“These results suggest that P.1 virus might escape from neutralizing antibodies induced by… CoronaVac,” researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, Washington University School of Medicine in the United States, and a few other institutions said in the paper.

The paper was published on Monday ahead of a peer review.

It further suggested that the vaccinated individuals may experience re-infection, but it may also contribute to reducing disease severity by providing antibodies and other mechanisms in the immune system.

A Sinovac spokesman did not immediately give any comment on the matter. In a program aired by state-backed broadcaster CGTN on Thursday, chief executive Yin Weidong said that the company is “fully capable” of developing a new vaccine against new variants if necessary, given their current research and manufacturing capacity.

He added that the process would take much less time than developing CoronaVac.

Countries including China, Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey are using CoronaVac in their mass vaccination drives.

Source: Reuters