Contradicting the vaccine maker's pronouncement, a new study has found that a third dose of Sinovac's Covid-19 vaccine does not provide sufficient protection against the Omicron variant. According to Nikkei Asia, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong conducted the study, finding that a third shot of what is one of the world's most widely used Covid-19 vaccines does not produce enough levels of virus-neutralising antibodies.
The third dose of a vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, however, significantly improved protection for those who had previously taken two doses of Sinovac, also known as CoronaVac, the study indicated. A Pfizer booster will "achieve optimal protection against (the) Omicron variant," Malik Peiris, the HKU professor who led the research was quoted as saying.
Sinovac last week said its own study had found that a third dose was "effective in improving the serum neutralising against the omicron strain".
It said that 94 per cent of those who had received three Sinovac doses generated enough neutralising antibodies. The company did not elaborate on what kind of antibody levels three shots produced.
Sinovac did not respond to requests for comment.
CoronaVac is one of two Chinese vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for emergency use.
Meanwhile, India’s Omicron tally breached the 550-mark and stood at 578. Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh reported their first Omicron cases — taking the number of affected states and UTs to 17. Madhya Pradesh reported nine cases, all of them foreign travelers. Himachal reported its first case just a day before PM Modi’s scheduled public meeting in Mandi. Delhi topped the list with 142 cases, followed by Maharashtra which has 141 cases so far
In view of the rising cases of Covid-19 and its Omicron variant, several states and UTs -- Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh -- have imposed night curfew and revised covid protocol.
