Chinese Sinopharm vaccine 84% efficacy against COVID-19 mortality - Argentine health ministry

BUENOS AIRES -- The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm is 84 percent effective in preventing death from the disease, showed a report by the Argentine Ministry of Health.

The document, titled "Study of the National Vaccination Campaign's Effectiveness in Reducing Mortality from COVID-19 in People aged 60 and over," was prepared by the ministry with cases from the country's 24 provinces during the period from Jan 1 to June 22.

The study found that the Sinopharm vaccine has an efficacy of "84 percent after the application of its two doses," state news agency Telam reported on Saturday.

The effectiveness against COVID-19 mortality in the Sinopharm vaccine reached 61.6 percent with the application of the first dose in the 147,908 cases analyzed, and increased to 84 percent after the second dose was applied to the same number of people.

In February, the country authorized the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccine after Health Minister Carla Vizzotti signed a resolution, an official measure which highlighted the "safety, immunogenicity and efficacy" of the vaccine.

In an interview with Xinhua, Argentine infectious diseases expert Martin Hojman said that the Sinopharm vaccine is "effective" and its arrival in the South American country is "excellent news."

"It has two doses. It is an inactivated vaccine that has proven efficacy and no adverse effects, it is a safe vaccine," said Hojman, a member of the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases.

Argentina has applied more than 24.61 million doses of vaccines since December last year, when it started its national immunization campaign.

In addition, preventive and mandatory social distancing measures are still in place nationwide until Aug 6, as stipulated by the government.