Research has shown that Sinopharm, China's COVID-19 vaccine, is less effective against the recently spreading Delta variant.
According to major foreign media on the 21st (local time), an analysis by researchers from Sri Jayewardenepura University, a public comprehensive university in Sri Lanka, and the University of Oxford in the UK found that the antibody levels against the Delta variant in people vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine were 1.38 times lower compared to the original COVID-19 virus.
This study was conducted on Sri Lankan people. The researchers explained that when comparing the antibody responses of vaccinated individuals and those naturally infected, no significant difference was found.
It is also reported that the Sinopharm vaccine is almost ineffective against the Beta variant, first reported in South Africa, as well as the Delta variant.
Sinopharm is one of the most widely used vaccines in China.
Besides Sinopharm, China's Sinovac has also faced controversy over being a 'water vaccine.' These vaccines developed by Chinese companies have received emergency approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) and are being administered in over 60 countries worldwide, mainly in developing countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America.
Although Chinese vaccines are expanding their market with low prices, as research results continue to show reduced effectiveness, countries that have administered Chinese vaccines, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, are increasingly seeking to secure Western vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna.
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