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Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine works for now, Health Ministry says
Researchers say more data is needed to determine how long the Chinese-made vaccine can protect people against the coronavirus amid global rise in infections.
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A medical worker administers the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine by Sinovac Biotech to a fellow medical practitioner at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta, on Jan. 14, 2021. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine, which has been the most widely administered immunizing agent in Indonesia’s inoculation drive, is over 95 percent effective in preventing hospitalization and death from the coronavirus among front line medical workers, one state-led study has found.
But questions remain over the longevity of the protection afforded, especially as the pandemic persists well into its second year amid fresh waves of infections by mutated variants and growing competition in vaccine production.
The results come from a study of the vaccine carried out between January and March by a team at the Health Ministry’s research and development arm.
The leader of the study, Pandji Wibawa Dhewantara, called it a "quick review" of the government's data on COVID-19 vaccination, confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths among more than 128,000 vaccinated and unvaccinated medical workers in Indonesia's capital Jakarta, one of the epicenters of the local outbreak.
The study found that the vaccine was 94 percent effective in preventing symptoms in workers who had contracted COVID-19, some 96 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations and 98 percent in preventing deaths, starting from 28 days and up to 64 days after a person gets his or her second jab.
In contrast, the vaccine’s effectiveness after a single dose came up to only 13 percent for preventing the onset of symptoms and 53 percent for preventing hospitalizations.
"The effectiveness of vaccination with only the first dose is far lower than that of two doses. When fully vaccinated, the risk of [symptomatic cases], hospitalization and death is much lower," Pandji told a press briefing last week.
