China's SinoVac efficacy remains inconsistent, COVID-19 cases surge in the country

Amidst China's constant effort to push its COVID-19  vaccine, SinoVac in other nations, and debates on the efficacy, public reports on its effectiveness have been inconsistent, which the Chinese firm says it has been caused by the variations in methodology. China started the emergency use of its vaccine in July last year.

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Experts have said that the country has been slow with pushing the trial data. China has administered more than 10 million doses of its state-owned firm Sinopharm which also has not published phase 3 trial data, as per a DD News report. 

Hong Kong delays SinoVac distribution 

As per DD News report, Hong Kong has announced that it may delay the distribution of the Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine because of a lack of trial data, raising transparency concerns over a vaccine Beijing wants to sell throughout the developing world, however, China has started exporting its vaccines, as most countries are likely to need more than one type of vaccine to meet the demand. The exports come even as China battles its own flare-up in infections, which has put nearly 30 million people in lockdown.

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China on Friday reported at least 130 fresh confirmed coronavirus cases, out of which 115 were locally transmitted. Among the locally transmitted cases, 90 were reported in Hebei, 23 in Heilongjiang, and two in Beijing. 79 new asymptomatic cases were also reported. Almost 10 provinces in the country are currently affected by such cases. 

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On January 13, Turkish authorities gave the go-ahead for the emergency use of the Sinovac, paving the way for the rollout of Turkey’s vaccination program starting with health care workers and other high-risk groups. The same day, the vaccine found to be far less effective than vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, according to a Brazilian government statement that raised questions about the lack of transparency of Chinese-made vaccines.

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Meanwhile, traces of coronavirus have been detected in ice cream samples in northern China, forcing authorities to seize thousands of potentially contaminated products. The northern part of the country is already battered with a recent outbreak which has pushed the caseload to 97,616 with over 4,700 reported fatalities.