2LT International News
WHO questions side-effect data from Sinopharm Covid vaccine
May 8, 2021
GENEVA, Switzerland: World Health Organization experts have said they have “very low confidence” in data received from Chinese state-owned drugmaker Sinopharm on side-effects caused by its COVID-19 vaccine.
However, the WHO remains confident in the Chinese vaccine’s ability to prevent contracting the disease, reports Reuters.
Problems with data regarding side-effects included the low number of people with other medical problems who received the Chinese vaccination.
The WHO document spoke of “evidence gaps” in data that evaluates protection against side-effects.
“We have very low confidence in the quality of evidence that the risk of serious adverse events in individuals with comorbidities or health states that increase risk for severe COVID-19 following one or two doses of BBIBP-CorV is low,” the document said, according to Reuters.
The WHO document includes reviews from clinical trials in China, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Data also showed that the Chinese vaccine proved 78.1 effective after two doses, the document said.
“We are very confident that 2 doses of BBIBP-CorV are efficacious in preventing PCR confirmed COVID19 in adults (18-59 years),” the document said.
