A new study suggests that a Sinopharm vaccine offers poor protection from COVID-19 among the elderly, raising questions for dozens of countries that have given the Chinese company’s shots to their most vulnerable populations. A survey of blood samples taken from 450 people in Hungary at least two weeks after their second Sinopharm dose found that 90% under 50 years old developed protective antibodies. But the percentage declined with age, and 50% of those over 80 had none. Read:Further discussion needed on use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine on elderly The study by two Hungarian researchers was posted online this week but not yet reviewed by other scientists. Three outside experts said they had no problems with the methodology of the study of the vaccine developed by Sinopharm’s Beijing Institute of Biological Products. “This is very, very worrying that these people, who are high-risk, have a poor antibody response,” said Jin Dong-yan, a Hong Kong University virologist who was not affiliated with the study. Antibody levels are not a direct measure of how protected a person is from COVID-19, but there is growing evidence that they are a good proxy. One expert cautioned that the choice of test kits could have limited the accuracy of the measurements. Still, the study’s findings have value and are the first public, scientific attempt to analyze the effect of the Sinopharm vaccine in the elderly, said Wang Chenguang, a former professor at Peking Union Medical College and an immunology expert. China’s National Health Commission declined to comment on the study, saying it would only respond to studies by governments or major research institutions. This is not the first time questions have been raised about the efficacy of the vaccine, which was given a greenlight by the World Health Organization in May and is being used in more than 50 countries, many of which seized upon it when other vaccines were tough to come by. A spokesperson for the WHO said Wednesday that its experts “are aware of the study and continue to look at all available evidence.” The agency’s advisers raised questions months ago about whether it provided protection in people 60 and over, but when it was OK’d a WHO expert said that there was no reason to think it would work differently in the elderly. The vaccine is one of two similar shots developed by Sinopharm. The state-owned Chinese company’s research showed that almost all the participants in final-stage clinical trials were under 60 — and its own researchers said there was insufficient evidence to say whether the vaccines work in the elderly. Overall, the Beijing Institute vaccine was found to be 78% effective. In Hungary, concern about the shots led many to seek out private antibody tests. Eventually the capital city of Budapest offered free testing to elderly residents as part a bid to ratchet up pressure on the government to conduct its own wider survey and provide booster shots to those who need them. Read: As vaccinations lag, Italy's elderly again pay a price After initially rebuffing calls for a government response to efficacy concerns — including from the antibody study’s authors Balazs Sarkadi and Tamas Ferenci — Prime Minster Viktor Orban finally acquiesced last week in the face of growing public anger. He announced that the government would provide its citizens with an optional third shot. His office said, though, that all vaccines authorized by Hungary are effective. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain both announced in May that they, too, would offer a third dose of Sinopharm amid concerns about an insufficient antibody response. Bahrain recommended that people over 50 and some other vulnerable people receive Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine as their booster regardless of whether they got Sinopharm initially. CNBG, the Sinopharm subsidiary that oversees the Beijing Institute, has said a third dose is not part of the company’s clinical guidance. It’s not clear how many doses of the Beijing Institute Sinopharm vaccine have been exported. Overall, China exported 500 million vaccines doses in the first half of the year, and the company is one of country’s two major COVID vaccine makers, along with privately owned Sinovac. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization recently ordered 550 million doses from the two companies for the U.N.-backed COVAX program. Both Sinopharm vaccines are also in wide use in China, including in the elderly. The country’s National Health Commission said in April that the shots provide some protection, even though it acknowledged that early stages of clinical trials of Sinopharm’s vaccines and two others found fewer antibodies in people 60 and over. In Budapest, Beata Englohner became concerned for her 76-year-old mother after hearing that people who had been vaccinated with Sinopharm were shown to have no antibodies. Englohner started a Facebook group to press the government to address the issue. She is cautiously optimistic now that Hungary will offer a third dose. “We’re very glad that we achieved our aim and that we were heard,” she said. “Though we’re a bit afraid that we’ll receive what we already got before.”

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said the Chinese government is working to start delivering Covid-19 vaccine doses before Eid-ul-Fitr although a 5-day May Day holiday is underway in China. Seeing it as a sign of “special friendship” with Bangladesh, he said Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka Li Jiming recently informed them that vaccine doses will start arriving here before Eid while Health Minister Zahid Maleque shared a more specific date -- May 10. “The Health Ministry will decide when and how many doses of the vaccine will arrive, and what will be the transportation system. They know when we’ll need it,” Dr Momen told UNB, adding that they just have helped the Health Ministry establish the network with both China and Russia as alternative sources of vaccines.   Read Bangladesh, China, others call for avoiding vaccine nationalism The Foreign Minister said everything is now closed in China due to the current holiday – the five-day May Day holiday. The holiday will end on May 5, he said.  “It takes some time as vaccines are produced based on orders,” Dr Momen said, adding that discussions with Russia and the United States are on to get vaccines. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday reaffirmed that the government will procure vaccines at any cost to protect people from coronavirus. “We are bringing more vaccines, no matter how much money is required; we will bring more vaccines." Also read: Vaccines to be procured at any expense, says PM Hasina China was supposed to give 5 lakh doses of vaccine as a gift apart from supplying vaccines through commercial purchase. Bangladesh has received 7 million of Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine doses produced by Serum Institute of India (SII) vaccines through its contract. Bangladesh also received 3.3 million doses of vaccine as a bilateral partnership gift. This is the largest amount sent from India to any country. The US has decided to share its entire stock of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines with the world once it clears federal safety reviews, the White House said, with as many as 60 million doses expected to be available for export in the coming months. Read Brazil’s Bolsonaro rejects Chinese vaccine against COVID-19 “We sought vaccines from the US as they’ve a stock of 60 million doses. We would definitely welcome it,” Dr Momen said. He said they came to know, not in any letter (formal channel) but publicly that the US identified India and Brazil as priority countries to supply vaccines. Dr Momen said the United States assured all concerned of making Covid-19 vaccines available for other countries, including in Bangladesh once they have surplus reaching the level of mass vaccination in the US. “I can assure you when we can reach the level of the critical mass vaccination and we’ve surplus, we’ll absolutely make vaccines available in whatever different ways,” said John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate told reporters during his recent visit to Bangladesh. Also read: Intensify efforts to procure vaccines for alternative sources: BNP Diplomacy in Digital Era The Foreign Minister said they are continuing their diplomatic activities using digital tools despite disruptions globally amid Covid pandemic.  “We’re continuously connecting with everyone,” he said, mentioning that webinars and WhatsApp emerged as frequent means of communication during Covid situation. Dr Momen, however, said in-person meetings and negotiations came down significantly due to the current situation. “But in-person meetings are good for better negotiations.” Read WHO team working with Chinese vaccine producers ahead of potential emergency use: WHO director-general

The government on Thursday approved the emergency use of Sinopharm, a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine. The approval was given at a meeting of the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), said Director General of DGDA Mahbubur Rahman. On Tuesday, the government approved the emergency use of Sputnik V Vaccine of Russia.  “We’ll get 5 lakh doses of the Chinese vaccine as gift within 7-10 days. Then we’ll start distribution. Then the government will start buying those on G2G basis,” Mahbubur Rahman told reporters. Also read: Decision on China vaccine after consulting advisory body: Health Minister Incepta Pharmaceuticals, Popular Pharma and Health Care Pharma have the capacity of producing vaccine, and the Chinese vaccine could be produced locally, Mahbubur Rahman said. “Discussions are on at the government level on local vaccine production. Among the three, Incepta alone has the capacity to produce 80 lakh doses of vaccine, and then export is also possible. If we could collect raw materials, then it’ll be possible to start the production within one or one and a half months. In case of technology transfer, it’ll take six months to start the production,” he added. The DG said the DGDA has a 12-member public health emergency committee which examined the efficacy of the vaccine.  “The vaccine is being used by China and some other countries. We’ve got all the data about it and we’ve scrutinised it through technical experts,” Mahbub added. Apparently considering its dwindling stock, the government suspended administering the first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from Apr 26. The first dose of the Covid vaccination has apparently been suspended amid uncertainty over the availability of vaccine doses from Serum Institute of India as per contract following rapid surge in the virus cases and deaths in neighbouring India. Bangladesh signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd for 30 million doses of the vaccine. Bangladesh received 7 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine produced by Serum Institute of India through its contract. Bangladesh also received 3.3 million doses of vaccine as a bilateral partnership gift. Although Foreign Minister AK Momen earlier assured people that there will be adequate doses of the vaccine but a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the vaccine doses uncertain. In mid-April, the pandemic suddenly turned India into a Covid vaccine importer from a mass exporter. DG of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam has recently said Bangladesh will get 21 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine by the first week of May. “Most of these vaccine doses will be imported by Beximco Pharmaceuticals,” he told reporters. Among the doses, one lakh are of COVAX while the Serum Institute will supply the rest, Khurshid Alam said Also read: Bangladesh approves local production of Russian, Chinese Covid vaccines Sinopharm Vaccine In December 2020, Chinese authorities gave conditional approval for general public use of a coronavirus vaccine developed by state-owned drugmaker Sinopharm. The move came a day after the firm said interim data showed its leading vaccine had a 79% efficacy rate in phase three trials, without providing more details, according to a BBC report. Several Chinese-made vaccines at a late trial stage are already in use in China after being granted emergency licences. The pandemic emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. It has since spread around the world, but China has managed to bring infection rates down to very low levels through strict anti-virus measures.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday (April 28, 2021) approved in principle a proposal for producing Russian and Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in Bangladesh.  “The cabinet body has approved in principle the Health Ministry’s proposal to facilitate the production of Russian and Chinese vaccines,” said Dr Shahida Aktar, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division, while briefing reporters after the meeting. Also Read: Bangladesh approves emergency use of Russian Sputnik V vaccine She noted that the government will purchase vaccine technology from Russian and China through direct procurement method (DPM) which means the Health Ministry will not require to follow any competitive bidding princess. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the virtual meeting where the proposal was placed by the Health Ministry on an emergency basis.  Also Read: Will take 2 weeks to get vaccine from alternative sources  Dr Shahida Aktar said Russia’s Sputnik-V and China’s Sinopharm will be produced in Bangladesh using the facilities and logistics of different private pharmaceutical companies. “No name of any specific companies was discussed at the meeting. But it was agreed in principle that the Russian and Chinese authorities will examine facilities and then things will be settled about who will produce the vaccines,” he added. Read Covid-19: Mexico to join clinical trials of Russian vaccine The approval from the government’s top authority came within a day of the government’s move to produce Covid-19 vaccines from Russian and China after India imposed a ban on the export of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine by Serum Institute to Bangladesh.  Mustafa Kamal said though Bangladesh approved Russian and Chinese vaccines’ local production, it will continue to its drive to have vaccine doses from India.  Read Myanmar registers Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine “We didn’t give up the hope about getting vaccine jabs from India,” he told the reporters. 

A Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Research and Development Co Ltd, a Chinese company, will be approved for use on Bangladeshi health workers after getting its satisfactory results, Health Services Division Secretary Abdul Mannan said on Tuesday.