The Committee on New Molecules of the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) unanimously issued its favorable opinion for the authorization of the emergency use of the Inactivated Vero Cell vaccine from the Sinopharm laboratory.
This means that very soon it could be authorized in the country to immunize the population.
The Sinopharm vaccine receives unanimous favorable opinion from the Committee on New Molecules, a big step towards the authorization of a ninth vaccine!
Decisions of @Cofepris are recognized by dozens of countries in the region, so it can be applied in neighboring countries
– Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez (@HLGatell) August 23, 2021
All about “Sinopharm”
In early 2020, the Beijing Biological Products Institute created an inactivated coronavirus vaccine called BBIBP-CorV. Clinical trials conducted by the state company Sinopharm showed that it had an efficacy rate of 79 percent. China approved the vaccine and soon began exporting it to other countries.
On May 7, the World Health Organization announced a similar efficiency of 78.1 percent.
BBIBP-CorV works by teaching the immune system to make antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Antibodies stick to viral proteins, such as so-called spike proteins, that dot their surface.
This means that they are made from viral particles produced in a laboratory, which are then inactivated so that they cannot infect you with COVID-19. Many other vaccines use similar platforms, including injectable polio, hepatitis A, and flu vaccines.
The vaccine also contains an adjuvant in the form of aluminum hydroxide. Adjuvants help strengthen the body’s immune response to vaccines.
Effective against other variants?
Certainly, there is a lack of data on the efficacy of the Sinopharm vaccine against variants of concern. Available information suggests that it still works against the beta variant (B1351, first seen in South Africa), but it may be less effective, although this is a small laboratory study. Little is known about the levels of protection against other variants. This is cause for concern.
Common side effects
The most frequently reported side effects in this trial were fever and pain at the injection site.
WHO reviewed safety data from three clinical trials, which included data from 16,671 participants who received the Sinopharm vaccine. Most of these data refer to men between 18 and 59 years old.
Based on these data, the most common side effects were:
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Injection site reactions
* These side effects are similar to other licensed COVID-19 vaccines, with most being mild to moderate.
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