Sinovac—Chinese vaccine against coronavirus: efficacy, side effects and price in Ukraine

Author

Natalia Myronova

13 April 2021 19:00

Life

What is known about the CoronaVac coronavirus vaccine. Photo: Pixabay

Soon, the first batch of CoronaVac vaccine from the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech should arrive in Ukraine. has collected information on the vaccine efficacy, its side effects and its imminent appearance in Ukraine.

A series of articles about coronavirus vaccines from :

Indian vaccine Covishield;
American Moderna;
Russian Sputnik V;

Sinovac vaccine: efficacy

Initially, CoronaVac was 50.4% effective, according to research from Brazil. However, it prevents the severe course of the coronavirus by 100% and the mild form by almost 78%. Later, researches from Turkey showed that the vaccine was 83.5% effective. These figures are based on the final results from Phase III trials. The vaccine also prevented the severe course of the coronavirus and hospitalization by 100%. Six people in the group were hospitalized during the trial, according to the Head of the research, Professor of Hacettepe University Serhat Unal. They all received a placebo, not a vaccine.

The CoronaVac vaccine is a liquid inactivated whole-virion vaccine that uses cells from a non-living virus. These cells cannot infect the human body with coronavirus, but they can activate the immune system. The vaccine is stored at temperatures from +2 to +8 degrees. The medication is administered intramuscularly. The course requires two doses of the vaccine with an interval of 2 weeks.

Side effects

The researches have shown no serious side effects, the most common one is fever for several days.

Common side effects from Sinovac vaccine:

fever,
redness around the vaccination site,
cough.

"In the emergency regime, the vaccine was used on about a million people, and there were no cases of serious side effects. People had only mild symptoms," Liu Jingzhen was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post.

Sinovac vaccine in Ukraine

On December 30, 2020 it became known that Ukraine would receive 1.9 million doses of the vaccine from the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech worth 504 UAH per unit. The Ukrainian pharmaceutical company Lekhim as a partner of Sinovac has an agreement with the manufacturer to supply 5 million doses of the vaccine to Ukraine, including 1.9 million doses under government procurement.

The vaccine was approved only on March 9, 2021. Earlier it was reported that Lekhim would supply the first batch of CoronaVac vaccine by March 15, 2021.

On February 10, 2021, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau launched an investigation into the purchase of a vaccine against coronavirus. It is about an investigation into possible misuse when purchasing a Chinese vaccine from Sinovac Biotech at $17.85 per dose through a private intermediary firm.

"First, the SE Medical Procurement began negotiations on the purchase of a vaccine with an estimated cost of about $3 and was at the final stage of the process. However, later, Minister Maksym Stepanov manually stopped this process and instructed to start negotiations on the purchase of a Chinese vaccine from Sinovac Biotech. The announced purchase price for one dose has become almost the highest in the world," NABU reported.

Stepanov replied that Sinovac insisted on deliveries through Lekhim.

"At the suggestion and strong recommendation of Sinovac, the company they previously cooperated and are now cooperating with, Lekhim, joined the negotiation process. After the question arose about the appropriate conclusion of the contracts, we again returned to our desire to conclude the corresponding contract directly with Sinovac. We received an answer that they would like to receive this agreement through the Lekhim company that will directly deal with the supply of these vaccines."