KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 9): Pharmaniaga Bhd, citing a study conducted by Yale University, said that two doses of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine with a Pfizer-BioNTech booster dose are less effective and produces a lower immune response against the Omicron variant compared with other strains.
On the other hand, Pharmaniaga, which is the licensed distributor of Sinovac vaccine in Malaysia, highlighted that a separate research by Sinovac Biotech Ltd shows that three doses of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine produced higher neutralising antibodies in 95% of recipients compared with 3.3% by the second dose against a variant of concern (VOC), including Omicron.
Based on these findings, the pharmaceutical company stressed that getting a Sinovac Covid-19 booster is highly recommended for those who have completed their primary vaccination, which offers better protection by creating an antibody response and providing good protection, especially against severe disease.
Pharmaniaga’s statement contradicts Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s remark made in November last year to the Malaysian public that “for Sinovac recipients, a Pfizer booster is the best choice to increase your level of protection”.
"Many who (are) already qualified for the booster are waiting for a Sinovac booster to be approved. Don't wait. Take the Pfizer booster that is being offered. It's very effective and safe” said Khairy on Twitter on Nov 16.
In a statement, Pharmaniaga said the research conducted by Yale University, the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Health and other institutions, demonstrated that the primary two doses of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine with the booster shot of Pfizer produced an antibody response similar to a two-dose mRNA vaccine.
The country’s sole distributor of Sinovac vaccine also noted that Yale University School of Medicine Immunobiology Professor Akiko Iwasaki, in her official Twitter account said, “Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine’s two-dose recipients boosted with Pfizer mRNA vax, prior infection made no difference to the neutralisation capacity against Omicron."
Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical company pointed out that separate research by Sinovac Biotech Ltd shows that three doses of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine produced higher neutralising antibodies in 95% of recipients compared with 3.3% by the second dose against a variant of concern (VOC), including Omicron.
“As the world continues to combat the emergence of new Covid-19 variants, the results support a three-dose immunisation regimen to ensure greater protection against Covid-19, a finding which aligns with the advice of the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health authorities around the world for all types of Covid-19 vaccines,” its spokesperson, Pearson Liu said.
Recently, Khairy said the Ministry will now allow all Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine recipients to choose their preferred booster shot, but still highly recommends Pfizer or AstraZeneca.
According to him, a total of 3.5 million Sinovac recipients have yet to receive booster shots. Currently, some 12.616 million adults or 53.9% of the adult population in Malaysia have received their booster shots.
Shares in Pharmaniaga settled five sen or 0.67% higher at 75 sen on Wednesday, giving it a market capitalization of RM982 million.