Chilean study on the effectiveness of the CoronaVac vaccine was published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)

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  • The NEJM is one of the most prestigious medical research journals globally. Your article selection process includes very strict peer review processes that look at novelty, relevance and quality of the jobs they receive.
The article published last week, in the renowned scientific journal The New England Journal of Medicine points out in its abstract that in many countries mass vaccination campaigns are being carried out to prevent the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its consequences. It also highlights the need to urgently have vaccine efficacy estimates to support decision-making.
  • The author responsible for the Ministry of Health study, is Dr. Rafael Araos ACCDIS researcher, adviser to the Undersecretariat of Public Health, in conjunction with other academics and professionals of the Ministry of Health.

The publication includes the findings of the Ministry of Health's research "Effectiveness of the CoronaVac vaccine with inactive virus against SARS-CoV-2 in Chile" led by Dr.. Rafael araos, adviser to the Undersecretariat of Public Health of the Ministry of Health. These results were released by MINSAL, last April 16, in a ceremony led by the Minister of Health, Enrique Paris, the undersecretaries of Public Health and Care Networks, Paula Daza and Alberto Dougnac, respectively, and the head of the National Immunization Program (PNI) Cecilia Gonzalez. Subsequently, two updates of the study have been submitted, and within 2 weeks a new update will be presented.

Rafael Araos said that "this study was possible thanks to the large number of people vaccinated in Chile and the availability of sources of information that the country has, which enabled advanced data crossing and analysis of CoronaVac's real-life performance".

The specialist recognized the importance of this type of publications for the country and the world on the use of this vaccine, noting that "it is always very positive to publish in prestigious international scientific media, because it closes the process of scientific research, but this article is even more relevant because it corroborates that the vaccination strategy against COVID-19 developed by our country is effective".

The research covered 10 million 200 thousand people, of which, four million were inoculated between February 2 and May 1, 2021 with the Sinovac laboratory vaccine.

Publication in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that the effectiveness of CoronaVac at day 14 after the second dose is 65,9% to prevent COVID-19 symptoms; of 87,5% to prevent hospitalization; of 90,3% to prevent ICU admission, and 86,3% to prevent death due to COVID-19.

Araos explained that the study allowed to establish that "if we take the effectiveness of 65,9% to prevent COVID-19, of 100 people who would have had COVID-19, there will only be 34 cases if all had been vaccinated. In both, the effectiveness of 86,3% to prevent death due to COVID-19 tells us that of 100 people who had died from the disease, 13 will do it if everyone gets vaccinated".

The Minister of Health, Dr. Enrique Paris, expressed his satisfaction with the publication "I congratulate Dr. Araos and all those who participated in the study 'Effectiveness of the CoronaVac vaccine with inactive virus against SARS-CoV-2 in Chile', carried out by the Ministry of Health. No doubt, this article reinforces the vaccination process that our country has carried out and recognizes the effectiveness of the CoronaVac vaccine".

The co-authors of the study are Alejandro Jara, Ph.D., Edward A. Undurraga, Ph.D., Cecilia Gonzalez, M.D., Fabio walls, M.Sc., Tomas Fontecilla, M.Sc., Gonzalo Jara, B.S.E., Alejandra Pizarro, M.D., Johanna Acevedo, M., Katherinne Leo, B.S.E., Francisco Leon, M.B.A., Carlos Sans, B.S.E., Pauline Leighton, B.S.E., Pamela Suarez, B.S.E., and Heriberto García-Escorza, M.

Download the publication here

See full news at www.minsal.cl

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