China's CanSinoBio vaccine nearly 75% effective against coronavirus: Dr Faisal

• PM's aide Dr Faisal Sultan says China's CanSinoBio is 74.8% effective against the virus in Pakistan
• The vaccine is 100% effective in preventing severe disease in Pakistan, says Dr Sultan 
• The special assistant said that the IDMC did not report any “serious safety concerns”

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan on Monday announced that China's CanSinoBio COVID-19 vaccine is nearly 75% effective against the virus in Pakistan.

Taking to Twitter, the special assistant said that according to the vaccine's phase-three trials data, it has turned out to be 74.8% effective against the virus, while it also showed 100% effectiveness in preventing severe disease.

Further citing the Independent Data Monitoring Committee's report, he said that in multiple countries, the vaccine was 65.7% and 90.98% effective in preventing symptomatic cases and severe diseases, respectively.

Read more: Pakistanis join final trials for China-made coronavirus vaccine

The SAPM said that the IDMC did not report any “serious safety concerns” and that the data included as many as 30,000 participants and 101 people who had tested positive for coronavirus.

At the beginning of February, China’s CanSino Biologics had said that an independent committee found the drugmaker’s COVID-19 vaccine met its pre-specified primary safety and efficacy targets under an interim analysis of Phase-three trial data.

Read more: Pfizer, AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines to be used in Pakistan for elderly

No adverse events related to the vaccine have occurred and the findings of the IDMC means the company could go ahead with advancing its Phase-three clinical trial for the candidate, known as Ad5-nCoV or Convidecia, CanSinoBio said.

Back in November 2020, officials said Pakistan had inoculated about 7,000 of the 10,000 phase-three trial participants.

Pakistan has approved two coronavirus vaccines – AstraZeneca and Sinopharm — while the vaccination drive kicked off last week across the country. 

Pakistan will administer the vaccine in three phases, starting with front-line healthcare workers.