SINOVAC’S COVID-19 vaccine was found to be safe and effective against COVID-19 infection and could provide protection against the Delta and Omicron variants to children as young as 3 years old, according to vaccine and infectious disease experts.
Dr. Liza Gonzales of the Philippine Pediatric Society said during an online Kapihan on Thursday that CoronaVac, the brand name of Chinese company Sinovac’s vaccine, was “well-tolerated and safe” among children age 3 to 17 years, based on a clinical trial conducted in the Chinese province of Hebei. The study based on this trial was published in June last year in the medical journal Lancet.
A two-dose regimen composed of 3 micrograms each was found to induce higher neutralizing antibodies compared to a 1.5-microgram vaccine shot, Gonzales said.
Another clinical trial, this time in Chile, showed that Sinovac provided “mild or modest protection” against the Omicron and Delta variants, according to Gonzales, who is an infectious disease specialist.
The safety trial, which was participated by 963 Chilean kids and teens age 3 to 17, showed that neutralizing antibodies and T cells, or the white blood cells that fight infection, “recognized” Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
But Gonzales said that further studies have yet to be made regarding these findings because the Chilean trial used a “pseudovirus neutralization assay,” a virological tool developed for the evaluation of antibodies against coronavirus in laboratories.
“We don’t know yet how (Sinovac) will do in the real world. That’s what we’re waiting for. But at least we know that there are neutralizing antibodies as well as T cell responses against these variants. We need further studies before we can say it is really effective,” Gonzales said.
The studies were presented as the Department of Health awaits the review of the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC), an independent advisory body created under the Republic Act 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act, on the use of the Sinovac jab for age 6 and up. (©Philippine Daily Inquirer 2022/Kathleen de Villa)
