BEIJING (Reuters) – Two COVID-19 vaccines from Chinese companies introduced Sinopharm boosted immunity to a highly transmissible coronavirus variable first discovered in South Africa, but the their impact is weaker, a small laboratory study published Tuesday showed.
Various strains of the virus have raised concerns that they could improve the effects of vaccines and medications before they appear.
Twelve serum samples each from recipients of two vaccines developed by a subsidiary of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and a unit of Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products maintained neutral activity against the South African variety, the reporters said. their research in paper.
The paper was written by researchers from the Beijing Sinopharm Institute of Biological Products, the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is co-developing a candidate with the Zhifei unit, and two other Chinese organizations.
However, the activity of the samples against the variant was weaker than against the original virus and other variables currently spreading across the globe, according to the paper published on the BioRxiv website ahead of peer review.
The reduction in activity should be noted “for its impact on the clinical efficacy of these vaccines,” they said.
The Sinopharm vaccine is approved in China for general public use and is also used in several other countries including the United Arab Emirates. The Zhifei bullet is in late-stage clinical trials in China and abroad.
Initial clinical trial data on vaccines from Novavax Inc and Johnson & Johnson showed that they were less effective in inhibiting COVID-19 in trial participants in South Africa, where the variance is new strong broad.