Real-world study of the effectiveness of BBIBP-CorV (Sinopharm) COVID-19 vaccine in the Kingdom of Morocco

Abstract

Background The Kingdom of Morocco approved BBIBP-CorV (Sinopharm) COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use on 22 January 2021 in a two-dose, three-to-four-week interval schedule. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine real-world BBIBP-CorV vaccine effectiveness (VE) against serious or critical hospitalization of individuals RT-PCR-positive for SARS-CoV-2 during the first five months of BBIBP-CorV use in Morocco. Methods The study was conducted among adults 18–99 years old who were tested by RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 infection between 1 February and 30 June 2021. RT-PCR results were individually linked with outcomes from the COVID-19 severe or critical hospitalization dataset and with vaccination histories from the national vaccination registration system. Individuals with partial vaccination (< 2 weeks after dose two) or in receipt of any other COVID-19 vaccine were excluded. Unadjusted and adjusted VE estimates against hospitalization for serious or critical illness were made by comparing two-dose vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in logistic regression models, calculated as (1-odds ratio) * 100%. Results There were 348,190 individuals able to be matched across the three databases. Among these, 140,892 were fully vaccinated, 206,149 were unvaccinated, and 1,149 received homologous BBIBP-CorV booster doses. Unadjusted, full-series, unboosted BBIBP-CorV VE against hospitalization for serious or critical illness was 90.2% (95%CI: 87.8—92.0%). Full-series, unboosted VE, adjusted for age, sex, and calendar day of RT-PCR test, was 88.5% (95%CI: 85.8—90.7%). Calendar day- and sex-adjusted VE was 96.4% (95%CI: 94.6—97.6%) for individuals < 60 years, and was 53.3% (95%CI: 39.6—63.9%) for individuals 60 years and older. There were no serious or critical illnesses among BBIBP-CorV-boosted individuals. Conclusions Effectiveness of Sinopharm’s BBIBP-CorV was consistent with phase III clinical trial results. Two doses of BBIBP-CorV was highly protective against COVID-19-associated serious or critical hospitalization in working-age adults under real-world conditions and moderately effective in older adults. Booster dose vaccination was associated with complete protection, regardless of age, although only a small proportion of subjects received booster doses.

Humoral response and neutralising capacity at 6 months post-vaccination against COVID-19 among institutionalised older adults in Argentina

“…The rates of seroconversion for the infection-naïve group in our population of older adults were similar to those reported for the general population for both Sputnik V ( 5 ) and AZD1222 ( 6 , 30 , 31 ) but lower than the rate previously reported for people over 60 years vaccinated with BBIBP-CorV ( 32 , 33 ). This data is valuable because aged individuals are at higher risk of experiencing more severe forms of COVID-19, as well as hospitalisations and death.…”

Effectiveness of Vaccination in Preventing COVID-19: A Community Study Comparing Four Vaccines

“…The data on the effectiveness of BBiBP-CorV are less abundant. Two Moroccan studies that looked at the effectiveness of BBIBP-CorV, again against SARS-CoV-2 severe disease/hospitalization, showed an early VE (within the first five months after the beginning of vaccination) against hospitalization of 90% [ 12 ]; and a VE ranging from 87–88% in the first three months, to 61% and 64% in the fifth and sixth month [ 24 ], which is quite similar to our finding at a comparable time after vaccination.…”

“…Indeed, several variants of concern (VoC) occurred and passed in the meantime, up to the current global spread of the Omicron variant and its many additional mutations [ 5 ]. Numerous studies have been and are being carried out around the world, a summary of which may be found at the International Vaccine Access Center [ 6 ], showing varying effectiveness of the different vaccines in different clinical settings, age groups, professional groups (healthcare workers), as well as according to the number of doses administered (two or more) and time after vaccination, as well as time of study in the context of the predominant viral variants [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. However, to inform public health officials on epidemiological measures and policies, as well as to guide further efforts on the vaccine development and alterations, data from various settings and geographies are still needed for a full picture.…”

Characterisation of the Antibody Response in Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV) Recipients and COVID-19 Convalescent Sera from the Republic of Moldova

“…This work aimed to provide quantitative tools for sera analysis and to test a not-widely-used vaccine, at least in Western countries, and with limited information on its efficacy. BBIBP-CorV has been used in several countries, but less research has been conducted on it compared to Pfizer BioNTech’s BNT162b2, Moderna’s mRNA-1273, AstraZeneca’s AZD1222 and Pfizer’s BNT162b2 [ 34 ].…”