The company and its Brazilian partner have released confusing numbers for the effectiveness of CoronaVac in clinical trials.

Experts advising the government on its Covid-19 vaccination programme on Tuesday recommended the emergency use of the Sinovac vaccine in Hong Kong, after receiving data from the mainland drug maker suggesting that its product’s efficacy rate exceeds 60 percent. The panel’s convenor, Professor Wallace Lau, said the panel unanimously agreed that the vaccine’s efficacy outweighs its possible risks. He said the panel had received the information it sought following a meeting on the Sinovac jabs last week, and the data provided of late-stage trials show the vaccine’s efficacy rate is 62.3 percent – when two doses are administered 28 days apart. A previously-reported efficacy rate of barely over 50 percent from late-stage clinical trials in Brazil had raised concerns that the vaccine isn’t as effective as it should be for emergency use. But Lau told reporters that all the data provided has put those fears to rest. “This is about an emergency use of a vaccine that will hopefully help to protect the people of Hong Kong…