339 Sibu children participate in Sinovac vaccine trial
SIBU: A total of 663 children aged three to 11 are currently involved in Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine trial conducted at nine locations nationwide.
Deputy Minister of Health Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang said out of the figure, 508 from Sibu and Miri in Sarawak have received their first of the two dose vaccine.
“In Sibu, 339 children are involved in the ongoing research at Sibu Hospital’s Clinical Research Centre (CRC) Clinic headed by Dr Toh Teck Hock.
“Another 169 children are involved with the research in Miri hospital. The trials in Miri and Sibu started in October and November respectively,” he told a press conference after visiting Sibu Hospital CRC here yesterday.
According to Aaron, the research funded by Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd, targeted to recruit 2,000 children nationwide for the trial.
He hoped to achieve the target in the next two months with the preliminary results expected to be available earliest in six months.
“This research is done to make sure it is safe for the targeted age group before we allow the use of the vaccine.
“This means we are being very careful before we can approve the vaccine for young children.
“We want to make sure approval for the vaccine later on is done not just based on data gathered from other countries where similar trials are being conducted but also from our own study,” he explained.
On the same matter, he said children selected for the trial would undergo a very stringent process and once selected they would be placed under detailed supervision.
He said to ensure the effectiveness of the vaccines, their antibody levels would be tested pre-vaccination and after getting their first and second dose.
“The children will be given a one month interval between the first and second dose,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr Toh said that they targeted 410 children in the trial in Sibu.
He said 114 out of 339 children who joined the trial here have completed their second dose so far.
He also encouraged parents with children within the age range to join the trial.
Also present was Sibu Hospital deputy director Dr Rachel Teng.
Parents interested in registering their children for the trial may contact Sibu Hospital at 084-314569.