Sinovac vaccine cuts risk of COVID-19 symptoms in Indonesian medical workers by 94 pct: study

JAKARTA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The CoronaVac vaccine developed by the Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech has effectively reduced the risk of COVID-19 symptoms in medical workers by 94 percent, showed a study by the Indonesian Health Ministry.

The research team's head Pandji Dhewantara said on Wednesday that the study conducted from Jan. 13 to March 18 this year involved 128,290 medical workers who were not infected with COVID-19.

"The conclusion was made after they received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine," Dhewantara said.

The study also concluded that the Sinovac vaccine was 96 percent effective in protecting medical workers from hospitalization for the coronavirus infection, and 98 percent effective in preventing deaths from the pandemic.

The health ministry's spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination Siti Nadia Tarmizi said that medical workers belong to the highest risk group for COVID-19 infection as they are working at the forefront in combating the pandemic.

Tarmizi also emphasized the importance of more people receiving the COVID-19 vaccine to achieving herd immunity and ending the pandemic as early as possible in the Southeast Asian country.

Indonesia has been hit hard by the pandemic, with its healthcare workers most liable to infections. As of end of April, at least 900 Indonesian healthcare workers had died from COVID-19, according to Lapor-Covid-19, an independent coronavirus data initiative.