Thread: Asia embraced China"s COVID vaccines. Now it may be uniquely vulnerable to Omicron

Omicron puts Chinese vaccines to the test

Sinovac and Sinopharm were initially popular across Asia, with more than 30 nations either buying jabs or receiving donated shots, as China aggressively used its vaccines as a diplomatic bargaining chip.




Beijing-based pharmaceutical company Sinovac insists its laboratory studies show three doses of the vaccine will neutralise Omicron.

While Western-made jabs Moderna, AstraZeneca and Pfizer are also less effective against the Omicron variant without boosters, one expert said people who received Sinovac and Sinopharm appeared to be the most vulnerable.

"If we just look at the levels of this neutralising antibody, they appear to be on the lower side to begin with and required boosting even before Omicron," said Dr Jerome Kim, the director general of the International Vaccine Institute.

Some Asian nations began making the switch away from Sinovac and Sinopharm before Omicron hit.

Thailand is now offering fourth shots to those who received a double dose of Sinovac, or a cocktail of Sinovac and AstraZeneca.

But other nations are sticking with the Chinese vaccines.

HERE