Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm subsidiary have recently announced that their COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed specifically to target the Omicron type has been approved for clinical studies in Hong Kong.
It is worth noting that scientists from across the globe are rushing to develop enhanced vaccines against Omicron after studies discovered that antibodies produced by vaccinations since the initial vaccines have lower performance in neutralizing the highly transmissible variant.
According to statements released by the two companies, candidates from Sinovac and Sinopharm subsidiary CNBG (China National Biotec Group), both include killed or inactivated Coronavirus and are identical to vaccinations that the other pharma companies offer in China as well as overseas.
According to CNBG, the candidate from Sinopharm will be studied as boosters in adults who have already had 2 or 3 vaccine doses. However, it did not say which vaccines the trial participants would have had before receiving the experimental booster, or the number of people that would be included.
Sinovac will continue to research the protection of its existing CoronaVac vaccine as opposed to new variations.
Another study claims that when delivered six months after a third booster dosage to a typical two-dose regimen, the 4th dose of BBIBP-CorV, Sinopharm Covid vaccine, did not significantly raise antibody levels against Omicron. While the 4th dose restored antibody levels to levels like those seen after the third dose, researchers believe that new vaccinations will be a better option for future boosters.
This comes at a time when the world is facing the risk of another COVID-19 outbreak, with an increase in cases all around the world.
It is also worth mentioning that China is currently experiencing its worst Coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began. On Friday (15th April), the number of infections in the world's second-largest economy reached 24,680, with more than 23,500 new cases reported in financial hub Shanghai.
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