This Widely Used Chinese Vaccine Doesn't Give Adequate Protection Against Omicron, Study Finds

A study of 25 fully vaccinated people with Sinovac's shot, which is called Coronavac none showed sufficient antibodies in their blood serum to neutralize the omicron variant.

New Delhi: Hong Kong researchers have found that Sinovac Biotech Ltd., one of the most widely used vaccines in the world doesn't provide sufficient antibodies to neutralize the omicron variant a research lab after an initial test, reported Bloomberg. 

A statement released late on Tuesday night from a team of researchers at the University of Hong Kong released late Tuesday night stated that among 25 fully vaccinated people with Sinovac's shot, which is called Coronavac none showed sufficient antibodies in their blood serum to neutralize the omicron variant.

Meanwhile, 25 fully vaccinated with the messenger RNA shot developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE showed five had neutralizing ability against the new variant, the scientists said. Companies said that a third shot will be enough to fight against the new variant.

The researcher studied Antibodies which are one important part of the immune response that protect people from infection. The other is that of the immune response is cell-mediated immunity-known as T-cell response - which can protect people from serious illness and death.

The new Covid variant called B.1.1.529 or Omicron was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from South Africa on November 24.

The study led by Kwok-Yung Yuen, a respected professor in infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong has been accepted for publication in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases and is available online as a pre-print, according to the Bloomberg report. 

It is however there still a lot unknown whether Sinovac will be able to react with Omicron, including how T cells, the immune system's weapon against virus-infected cells, will respond. If the results are like the study then it will be a big blow to those who took the vaccine worldwide- which is mostly in China and developing nations and there will be a need to create another vaccine to fight the Omicron variant, the report stated. 

"The Chinese authorities have worked hard to have a high vaccination rate across the country but the mutability of the virus means that the impact of those efforts has been significantly reduced," said Nicholas Thomas, an associate professor at the City University of Hong Kong who has edited several books on foreign policy and public health was quoted by Bloomberg.

"The two-fold challenge now facing China is how to ensure that their population is again protected from omicron and any future mutations, plus managing the flows of goods and people over their borders when the rest of the world is moving to live with the virus," he said.

A study from Japan stated that Omicron is four times more transmissible than the Delta variant. The country has detected two omicron cases so far in returning travellers, with one of them being discovered over two weeks after he entered China, the report said. 

According to the Bloomberg report, the Hong Kong research team has exported the isolated omicron virus to China's government and vaccine manufacturers for the development of the vaccines targeting the new variant.

Meanwhile, scientists have advised people to take a third dose of vaccine as soon as possible but whether it will improve the neutralizing antibody response against the omicron variant remains to be determined, they said.