This vaccine is ineffective for half of Hungarians over the age of 80

New data suggests that the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine does not cause a rise of antibodies for a significant number of the elderly.

The Sinopharm vaccine is probably the most divisive one used in the fight against Covid. Many studies have surfaced during the past months on the effectiveness or rather on the ineffectiveness of the jab. Daily News Hungary already reported the findings of a Hungarian research investigating the immune reaction of those over 60. 

Biochemist Balázs Sarkadi and Tamás Ferenci, who works in biostatistics, conducted a research with the participation of 450 people. The subjects were examined at least two weeks after receiving the second dose of the vaccine. They published their results on Monday, which suggest the following:

• 90% of the subjects under the age of 50 produced antibodies after having received the Chinese jab
• Over the age of 60, the probability of not producing any antibodies is 25%
• When it comes to the elderly over 80, this probability increases to 50%
  
• For those around the age of 60, the likelihood of producing only a small number of antibodies is between 60-75%
• In the case of older people, this probability is even higher

According to the research, the level of antibodies depends neither on the sex of the patient nor on the time that passed after the second dose. The examinations were concluded with the same type of test that was used to monitor the functioning of the mRNA vaccines during the first and the second phase of the clinical research.

It is the first integrated research on the antibody reaction of Sinopharm, carried out in a laboratory relying on their methods, examining a relatively high number of subjects.

The age and sex of the subjects and the time that passed since the second dose were all considered, writes 444.hu. 

The Chinese Sinopharm is currently used in more than 50 countries, including Hungary. When the country approved its usage, there was no knowledge of the detailed results of the third phase of the clinical trials. However, based on the documents made public by the Medicines Agency, it was clear that the manufacturer tested the efficiency of its product solely for people under the age of 60.

The Hungarian government still approved the usage of Sinopharm; thus, over half a million people over 60 received this vaccine. 

Based on the study of the two professionals, there is more and more proof on the international field that the level of antibodies reflects the ability of someone to fight the disease successfully. 

Considering what we know about those vaccines that contain the inactivated virus, the level of antibodies is a good index when it comes to the Sinopharm jab, as well. All research that was carried out to verify the CoronaVac vaccine, made with the same technology, also suggests the same. 

Read alsoEMA: Both doses of vaccine are needed against the delta variant

Source: 444.hu, medrxiv.org