World accepts much-maligned China’s Covid-19 vaccine but doubts remain

Sinovac has shipped some 380 million doses, but it still hasn’t published any data in an academic journal.

A study of some 128,000 Jakarta health workers released Wednesday found Sinovac’s vaccine was far more protective than clinical trials had indicated.

Indonesia, one of the first nations to bet its Covid-19 vaccination campaign on Sinovac Biotech Ltd., was about to announce a stunning development, one that would help vindicate a shot that’s been shrouded in controversy for months. Over in Beijing, though, the company’s chief executive officer was unaware.

A study of some 128,000 Jakarta health workers released Wednesday found Sinovac’s vaccine — known as CoronaVac — was far more protective than clinical trials had indicated. A day earlier, it wasn’t mentioned by CEO Yin Weidong in a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg reporters, and representatives later confirmed the company didn’t know the announcement was coming.

It’s a disconnect that echoes the events of Christmas Eve 2020, when the Chinese developer that will be key to vaccinating much of the developing world had little explanation for why Brazil and Turkey released wildly divergent data on its shot within hours of each other. By January, Sinovac’s vaccine had seen four different efficacy rates — ranging from as high as 91% to as low as 50% — triggering concern among scientists and putting a question mark over its ability to protect against the virus still paralyzing the globe.

Sinovac has already shipped some 380 million doses, more than AstraZeneca Plc and second only to Pfizer Inc. worldwide. But unlike those companies — and even Russia’s Sputnik shot — it still hasn’t published any data in an academic journal, the gold standard experts use to assess a vaccine.

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