Health DG: Pfizer, Sinovac equally effective

 

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah says the Sinovac and Pfizer vaccines are very effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalisation. - AFP FILE PIC

KUALA LUMPUR: Medical data from vaccine use shows both Sinovac and Pfizer vaccines to be equally effective against Covid-19, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

In a Facebook post today, Dr Noor Hisham said the New England Journal of Medicine published a report on the Sinovac use in Chile from February to May 2021 on 4.2 million fully vaccinated individuals, compared to 5.5 million unvaccinated residents.

The study 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 admission by 90.3 per cent and reduce deaths by 86.3 per cent," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said in contrast, the Pfizer trial for Chile published in the journal which boasted 95 per cent efficacy was only done on a small group of only 170 Covid-19 cases, involving eight vaccinated and 162 unvaccinated individuals.

He said the Israeli health ministry had also recently pointed out that the Pfizer vaccine's effectiveness against Covid-19 was 64 per cent although it was still 93 per cent effective against hospitalisation and serious illnesses.

"Therefore 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." - FMT