A Covid-19 vaccine developed in China has shown success in mid-stage trials, researchers say.
There are several vaccines being developed in China, some of which are already being administered.
According to the researchers, the Sinovac Biotech vaccine led to a quick immune response during trials with around 700 people.
The announcement comes after European and US vaccines reported successful data from large late-stage trials.
Three vaccines, developed in the US, Germany and Russia, have all released data suggesting efficiency of more than 90%, after trials with tens of thousands of people.
Like the rest of the world, China is racing to develop a Covid vaccine, and four have entered the third and final stage of clinical trials, including the one created by Sinovac Biotech.
However, the results published in the scientific journal The Lancet are only from the first and second trial phases of one of those four vaccines.
According to the report, Sinovac Biotech’s CoronaVac triggered a quick immune response, although the study conducted in April and May this year did not give a percentage of the vaccine’s success rate.
Zhu Fengcai, one of the paper’s authors, said the results, which are based on 144 participants in the phase 1 trial and 600 in the phase 2 trial, meant the vaccine was “suitable for emergency use”.
No data from the ongoing large-scale phase 3 trials has been published yet./Bbc
