Researcher Says Sinovac’s COVID-19 Vaccine Appears to be Safe, Can Trigger Immune Responses in Children

Last Updated on 2021-03-25 , 3:17 pm

Just a year ago, when the window grills in our homes started to look like prison bars, the one thing we wanted more than anything was an effective COVID-19 vaccine.

Now we have vaccines pouring out of our butts, but only a few have been approved.

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, as well as Pfizer-BioNTech’s, are already in use in Singapore.

Soon, however, another vaccine from China may be deemed safe for use here too.

Researcher Says Sinovac’s COVID-19 Vaccine Appears to be Safe, Can Trigger Immune Responses in Children

Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac gave the globe some good news on Monday (22 March), as it announced its vaccine appears to be safe and able to trigger immune responses among children and adolescents.

The preliminary findings were observed in Phase I and II clinical trials involving over 500 people between the ages of three and 17.

The subjects received two shots of either medium or low dosage of the vaccine, or a placebo.

Interestingly, the vaccine seemed to be most effective in children.

The lower dose of the vaccine was sufficient to trigger antibody responses in children three to 11 years old, while the medium dose worked well for those aged 12 to 17.

The antibody levels triggered in these children were higher than those seen in adults aged 18 to 59 and in elderly people in earlier clinical trials of the vaccine.

As for adverse reactions, most were mild. Some children experienced a high fever.

However, these preliminary results have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

Uses More Traditional Vaccine Method

Singapore has already received shipments of Sinovac’s vaccine, but it hasn’t been approved for use yet.

As previously mentioned, the only two vaccines which have been approved for use in Singapore so far are Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines.

Both vaccines tapped on a new technology called mRNA to make their vaccines, which involves injecting part of the coronavirus’ genetic code into the body. This triggers the body to produce viral proteins, but not the whole virus. This will train the immune system to attack the virus.

Conversely, Sinovac’s vaccine uses a more traditional inactivated vaccine, which works by using killed viral particles to expose the body’s immune system to the virus without triggering a serious disease response.

This type of vaccine has been used to inoculate people against polio.

One major advantage of using Sinovac’s vaccine is that it can be stored in a standard refrigerator at 2-8°C.

On the other hand, Moderna’s vaccine needs to be stored at -20°C and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine at -70°C.

As for when the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) will approve Sinovac’s vaccine, it said it’s still awaiting Sinovac’s submission of all the necessary vaccine data.

This will allow them to assess the manufacturing process, safety, and efficacy of the vaccine under the Pandemic Special Access Route.

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