back to top
Wednesday, 4 December, 2024
HomeInternationalChina says early data shows Sinovac vaccine is safe in children

China says early data shows Sinovac vaccine is safe in children

China’s Sinovac Biotech has announced that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe in children ages 3-17, based on preliminary data, and it has submitted the data to Chinese drug regulators. ABC News reports that more than 70m shots of Sinovac’s vaccine have been given worldwide, including in China.

China has approved its use in adults but it has not yet been used in children, because their immune systems may respond differently to the vaccine.

Early and mid-stage clinical trials with over 550 subjects showed the vaccine would induce an immune response, Gang Zeng, the medical director at Sinovac, is quoted in ABC News as saying. Two recipients developed high fevers in response to the vaccine, one a 3-year-old and the other a 6-year-old. The rest of the trial subjects experienced mild symptoms, Zeng said.

“Showing that the vaccine is safe and would elicit potentially useful immune response against SARS-CoV-2 is very welcomed,” said Eng Eong Ooi, a professor at the Duke NUS Medical School in Singapore who is co-leading the development of a separate COVID-19 vaccine. However, he said the data presented publicly by the company was not enough to give a conclusive answer on the findings.

ABC News reports that children are far less likely to be seriously ill with COVID-19, but they are still at risk and can spread the virus. And while vaccination campaigns worldwide have focused on adults, children will need to be immunised to end the pandemic.

 

[link url="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/sinovac-vaccine-safe-children-young-76624380"]Full ABC News report (Open access)[/link]

 

 

 

MedicalBrief — our free weekly e-newsletter

We'd appreciate as much information as possible, however only an email address is required.