Current best evidence for clinical care (more info)
IMPORTANCE: Although effective vaccines against COVID-19 have been developed, additional vaccines are still needed.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and adverse events of 2 inactivated COVID-19 vaccines.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Prespecified interim analysis of an ongoing randomized, double-blind, phase 3 trial in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain among adults 18 years and older without known history of COVID-19. Study enrollment began on July 16, 2020. Data sets used for the interim analysis of efficacy and adverse events were locked on December 20, 2020, and December 31, 2020, respectively.
INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomized to receive 1 of 2 inactivated vaccines developed from SARS-CoV-2 WIV04 (5 µg/dose; n = 13 459) and HB02 (4 µg/dose; n = 13 465) strains or an aluminum hydroxide (alum)-only control (n = 13 458); they received 2 intramuscular injections 21 days apart.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was efficacy against laboratory-confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 14 days following a second vaccine dose among participants who had no virologic evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection at randomization. The secondary outcome was efficacy against severe COVID-19. Incidence of adverse events and reactions was collected among participants who received at least 1 dose.
RESULTS: Among 40 382 participants randomized to receive at least 1 dose of the 2 vaccines or alum-only control (mean age, 36.1 years; 32 261 [84.4%] men), 38 206 (94.6%) who received 2 doses, contributed at least 1 follow-up measure after day 14 following the second dose, and had negative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction test results at enrollment were included in the primary efficacy analysis. During a median (range) follow-up duration of 77 (1-121) days, symptomatic COVID-19 was identified in 26 participants in the WIV04 group (12.1 [95% CI, 8.3-17.8] per 1000 person-years), 21 in the HB02 group (9.8 [95% CI, 6.4-15.0] per 1000 person-years), and 95 in the alum-only group (44.7 [95% CI, 36.6-54.6] per 1000 person-years), resulting in a vaccine efficacy, compared with alum-only, of 72.8% (95% CI, 58.1%-82.4%) for WIV04 and 78.1% (95% CI, 64.8%-86.3%) for HB02 (P < .001 for both). Two severe cases of COVID-19 occurred in the alum-only group and none occurred in the vaccine groups. Adverse reactions 7 days after each injection occurred in 41.7% to 46.5% of participants in the 3 groups; serious adverse events were rare and similar in the 3 groups (WIV04: 64 [0.5%]; HB02: 59 [0.4%]; alum-only: 78 [0.6%]).
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this prespecified interim analysis of a randomized clinical trial, treatment of adults with either of 2 inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines significantly reduced the risk of symptomatic COVID-19, and serious adverse events were rare. Data collection for final analysis is pending.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04510207; Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2000034780.
| Discipline / Specialty Area | Score |
|---|---|
| Family Medicine (FM)/General Practice (GP) | |
| General Internal Medicine-Primary Care(US) | |
| Infectious Disease | |
| Public Health | |
| Internal Medicine | |
The world needs effective Covid-19 vaccines. Though the follow up period is relatively short, this study shows that these 2 vaccines are effective, at least for 2 to 3 months after vaccination.
The paper is like so many papers about COVID-19. It needs to be taken with caution. The paper proves the effectiveness of the vaccines. However, the science needs a long way to go to prove efficacy and safety of such vaccines.
Reassuring data for these vaccines, but the results apply only to healthy, relatively young & mostly males.
This is an interim analysis of a RCT of two Cars-Covid-19 inactivated vaccines compared with placebo, that provide useful information on the limited efficacy of both HBO2 and WIVO4 (78,1 and 72,8 %, respectively). The sample (with mean age of 36,1 y, and 84,4% men) is a relevant limitation in order to generalizably of results.
This study shows that vaccines work. These studies can reduce vaccine hesitancy and encourage people to be vaccinated.