Subsequent studies in Brazil for China’s Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine have shown promising results, positioning it for public use, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The vaccine, CoronaVac, has reached the third phase of studies in Brazil, the first country to complete the third stage of testing the Sinovac vaccine, according to the newspaper. The experimental vaccine is also being tested in Indonesia and Turkey.
Sources involved in the development of the vaccine told the journal that the results of the study in Brazil indicate that the Sinovac vaccine is above the 50% threshold that the scientific community considered necessary for sufficient protection against the virus.
João Doria, the governor of São Paulo, said the plan is to vaccinate all of São Paulo by the end of July, a year earlier than promised by the Brazilian federal government. São Paulo represents about one-fifth of the country’s population.
In October, Sinovac reported that 10,000 Beijing residents had already been injected with its vaccine.
News of promising results from Sinovac follows similar reports about another possible vaccine from Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.
The United Arab Emirates reported earlier this month that its study on the Sinopharm vaccine indicated that it is 86% effective in preventing coronavirus and 100% effective in preventing moderate to severe cases of COVID-19. The United Arab Emirates approved the Sinopharm vaccine on December 10, becoming the first government to do so.