Sinovac and Pfizer equally effective against COVID-19, says Dr Noor Hisham

KUALA LUMPUR: Medical data from vaccine use showed that both Sinovac and Pfizer vaccines are equally effective against COVID-19, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

In a Facebook post today, Noor Hisham said that on July 7, the New England Journal of Medicine published a report on the Sinovac experience in Chile from February to May 2021 on 4.2 million fully vaccinated individuals compared to 5.5 million unvaccinated residents, with the study also having documented 218,784 COVID-19 cases.

"Sinovac was found to reduce COVID-19 infection by 65.9 per cent, reduce hospitalisation by 87.5 per cent, reduce intensive care unit (ICU) admission by 90.3 per cent and reduce deaths by 86.3 percent," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said in contrast, the Pfizer trial that reported efficacy of 95 per cent was very small and analysed only 170 COVID-19 cases involving a group of eight vaccinated and 162 unvaccinated individuals.

Therefore, he said there is not much difference between the Sinovac and Pfizer vaccines in actual practical use.

"Both are very effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalisation, but less effective against mild or asymptomatic COVID-19," he added.

-- BERNAMA