BEIJING (Reuters) – Two COVID-19 vaccines from Chinese companies, including Sinopharm, have triggered immunity to a highly transmissible coronavirus variant first found in South Africa, but its effect appears to be weaker, ‘ a laboratory study with a small sample released Tuesday.
The variants of the virus have expressed concern that it may weaken the effects of vaccines and treatments that develop before its emergence.
Twelve serum samples each taken from recipients of two vaccines developed by a subsidiary of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and a unit of Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products, retained their neutralizing activity against the South African variant, their researchers said in a paper.
The article was written by researchers from the Sinopharm-affiliated Beijing Institute of Biological Products, the Institute of Microbiology or Chinese Academy of Sciences, which together with the Zhifei unit is developing a candidate and two other Chinese agencies.
However, the activity of the samples against the variant was weaker than against the original virus and another variant that is currently spreading worldwide, according to the article published on the website BioRxiv. bit.ly/3rfr2UZ
The reduction in activity “should be taken into account for its impact on the clinical efficacy of these vaccines,” they said.
The Sinopharm vaccine has been approved for general use in China and is also used in several other countries, including the United Arab Emirates. The Zhifei shot is in late-stage clinical trials in China and abroad.
Preliminary clinical trial data on vaccines from Novavax Inc and Johnson & Johnson also showed that it was significantly less effective in preventing COVID-19 in trial participants in South Africa, where the powerful new variant is widespread.
Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Ryan Woo; Edited by Miyoung Kim and Simon Cameron-Moore