Pharmaniaga: Sinovac booster shots 94 pct effective against Omicron

The studies by Sinovac Biotech Co Ltd involved two strains of the new variant from Hong Kong, it said in a statement today.

Lab results showed that, when tested against one of the Omicron strains, 35 per cent of the 20 serum samples (7/20) from recipients of two CoronaVac doses tested positive of the neutralising antibody, and 94 per cent of the 48 samples (45/48) from recipients of three doses tested positive of the neutralising antibody.

Comparative testing using the other strain of Omicron virus is underway.

Pharmaniaga said Sinovac is conducting further studies involving sera with different antibody levels and at a wider variety of post-immunisation points of time in order to achieve a comprehensive evaluation of Omicron's impact on the vaccine.

This supports the statement made by Sinovac Biotech senior director of oversea business Weining Meng who said a booster shot given at an interval of six to 12 months after the second dose led to a strong boost in immune response with geometric mean titers (GMTs) increasing to approximately 140.

Meng was quoted as saying that the GMTs of six months after the third dose is higher than the peak of the second dose.

"In addition, the studies also showed higher persistence of antibody six months of the booster dose compared to the second dose, indicating a longer duration of protection from COVID-19 and new variants," Meng said.

Pharmaniaga said these scientific studies also are in line with the statement made by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin yesterday asking all adults Sinovac recipients and those above 60 years old, regardless of their types of vaccines, to take the booster shots by end-February 2022.