Almost five million people in Mexico who received a single dose of the Cansino Covid-19 vaccine could soon be lining up for a booster jab.
Although antibodies generated by the vaccine remain at 70 percent after the first six months, the Chinese pharmaceutical company is now recommending that a second shot be administered. The company said internal research indicates that if a booster dose is given six months after the first dose, the antibodies multiply by eight.
Cansino’s single-dose vaccine has been applied in Mexico for speedy inoculations of educational personnel, to enable teachers to get back into class safely.Many citizens in remote, indigenous zones of the country – including the Huichol region of northern Jalisco – also got Cansino jabs. Around 300,000 people living in Jalisco have received the vaccine, state health authorities say.
An independent study carried out by the University of Guadalajara (UdG) involving employees who received the vaccine seem to verify the results released by the Chinese company. Staff given Cansino who had not previously been infected with Covid-19 presented around the same levels of immunity as provided by a single Pfizer jab, UdG investigator Jorge Hernandez Bello said.
The studies do show that the Cansino vaccine is around 90 percent effective against severe illness and death. However, there is little information about its efficacy against the Delta virus.
The Chinese vaccine is one of the least expensive on the market, costing around $US4 a shot.