Sinopharm effective against Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 - Study

China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine has been found to be very effective against the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Research carried out by the Allergy, Immunology and Cell Biology Unit, Department of Immunology Molecular and Molecular Medicine at the Sri Jayawardhanapura University has shown that over 95 percent of vaccinated individuals in Sri Lanka developed antibodies against the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The study investigated the immune responses to the Sinopharm vaccine and found that the vaccine-induced antibody responses in over 95 percent of individuals, similar to levels seen following natural COVID-19 illness.

 The study has also found that the antibody responses to delta variant and neutralizing antibodies were similar to levels seen following natural infection.

The research has been conducted by Prof.Neelika Malawige and Dr.Chandima Jeewandara of the Allergy, Immunology and Cell Biology Unit, Department of Immunology Molecular and Molecular Medicine, the Colombo Municipal Council, Prof. Graham Ogg and Prof. Alain Townsend from the Oxford University.

Funds for this study were provided by the World Health Organization, UK Medical Research Council and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) Innovation Fund for Medical Science (CIFMS), China.