Ho Ching: Newly-approved COVID vaccine from India could be an option instead of Sinovac

Singapore — In a Facebook post on Friday morning (Nov 5), Madam Ho Ching mentioned Bharat Covaxin from India, a Covid-19 vaccine that received emergency use approval from the World Health Organization just this week.

A longtime proponent of vaccinations as one of the key measures for Singapore to exit the pandemic, the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and former Temasek Holdings CEO noted that Bharat Covaxin could be an alternative choice for those who are still unvaccinated.

“WHO has just authorised the Bharat Covaxin inactivated virus vaccine. 

This has 78% overall effectiveness during their phase 3 trials. But under that headline number is 90% effectiveness against the Kappa variant, and about 65% effectiveness against the Delta variant. 

With the WHO EUL authorisation, we can bring in the Bharat Covaxin as another alternative vaccine option for those who wish for a more effective inactivated virus vaccine, in lieu of Sinovac.”

🆕 WHO has granted emergency use listing (EUL) to #COVAXIN® (developed by Bharat Biotech), adding to a growing portfolio of vaccines validated by WHO for the prevention of #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/dp2A1knGtT

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) November 3, 2021

In Singapore, vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna were the first to be given authorisation for emergency use. These are messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, which means that a part of the coronavirus’ genetic code is injected into a person’s body. This activates the production of viral proteins, but not the whole virus, in order to train the immune system to attack.

The Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines administered in private clinics under the Special Access Route uses inactivated virus containing Sars-CoV-2 spike proteins that teach the body’s immune system to create antibodies against the virus.

For people with severe allergic reactions including anaphylaxis, or for those who are immunocompromised, mRNA vaccines are not advisable. Those among them wishing to be vaccinated, as well as those who are wary of mRNA vaccines, have been given Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines.

In her post, Mdm Ho shared a link to a Straits Times article, Increasing ICU beds for Covid-19 patients may lead to poorer care for others.

She wrote, “In real life, there are trade offs. And hospitals have to triage in an emergency. Even by postponing electives, what may be postponed could seed a more serious condition weeks or months down the road. Hence, the best thing the rest of us can do is to vaccinate and to boost.”

She added that unvaccinated Covid patients “are a preventable pressure on the hospital beds,” since two-thirds of hospitalized Covid cases are among unvaccinated seniors and one-fifth of those who fall seriously ill with Covid are below the age of 60 and are mostly unvaccinated. /TISG

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Non-mRNA vaccine from Novavax, said to be better than Pfizer & Moderna, gets first approval in Indonesia