Two vaccines developed by China’s Sinopharm worked against COVID-19 and successfully contained the outbreak, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). This is the first time detailed findings from a Chinese shot’s trial have appeared in the scientific literature, reported Bloomberg.

The study released on May 26 said that two inactivated vaccines developed by Sinopharm’s vaccine-making unit China National Biotec Group prevented symptomatic COVID-19 by 72.8% and 78.1%, respectively. These results are largely in line with what Sinopharm had announced earlier.

Also read: All about Covaxin, WHO approval and travel permissions

China has provided vaccines, including those developed by Sinopharm and Sinovac Biotech, to developing countries ranging from Hungary to Peru. However, the manufacturers have faced backlash for not sharing satisfactory data about the safety and efficacy of their shots.

The study published in JAMA included 40,832 volunteers from across the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan. It revealed some limitations in the vaccine trial. The testing was directed toward men, who accounted for nearly 85% of the participants. Among them, less than 2% were aged 60 or older, and most were healthy. 

Also read: Small number of people test positive after being fully vaccinated: CDC

These results give little information about the efficacy and safety of the vaccines among women, the elderly and those with comorbidities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) cleared one of Sinopharm’s shots earlier this month. Sinovac’s vaccine is yet to get the green light, although over 380 million of its doses have already been distributed globally.