HK study: BioNTech's jab sparks stronger antibody response than Sinovac's
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A man waiting in line at a vaccination centre in Hong Kong in March. A study by the University of Hong Kong found that some people who received the Sinovac vaccine might need a third booster shot.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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HONG KONG • People who are vaccinated against Covid-19 with BioNTech's vaccine were found to have "substantially higher" levels of antibodies than those who received Sinovac's jab, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a Hong Kong study.
Some who received the Sinovac vaccine might need a third booster shot as well, the newspaper said yesterday, citing lead researcher Benjamin Cowling, an epidemiologist with the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
The government-commissioned study was conducted by HKU's School of Public Health and tracked the antibody responses of 1,000 people who received either vaccine, the report added.
Dr Cowling also cautioned that antibody tests might fail to pick up small amounts of antibodies generated by the Sinovac jabs.
He was commenting on a recommendation by the government's scientific advisers to cut quarantine time for vaccinated travellers who test positive for antibodies but negative for the virus, the newspaper said.
Earlier this week, officials in Indonesia warned that more than 350 medical workers had caught Covid-19 despite being vaccinated with Sinovac shots and dozens have been hospitalised, raising concerns about its efficacy against more infectious variants of the virus.
Earlier this month, Uruguay released real-world data on the impact of Sinovac Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine among its population that showed it was over 90 per cent effective in preventing intensive care admissions and deaths.
The Uruguay government also studied the effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine among 162,047 health workers and people over 80 years old, and said the shot was 94 per cent effective at preventing intensive care unit admissions and deaths, and reduced infections by 78 per cent.
REUTERS
