Morocco Approves Sinopharm COVID-19 Vaccine for Adults 60 and Older

The committee bases this opinion on several available data. It recalls that the overall immunogenicity of the vaccine during the phase I and II clinical trials "is excellent for both the Beijing Sinopharm vaccine including people over 60 and the Wuhan Sinopharm vaccine, with a seroconversion rate between 97% and 100% after two injections". According to the ministry, the phase III clinical trial of the vaccine showed an overall efficacy of 86% and good safety.

Regarding the phase III clinical trial of the Wuhan Sinopharm vaccine, part of which took place in Morocco, "the preliminary results have shown good tolerance in people aged 60 and over. Still in the same age group, the pharmacovigilance data from the national vaccination campaign do not mention any other adverse effects, different from those recorded at the level of the rest of the vaccinated population.

Since the start of the campaign until now, 8 cases of minor adverse effects have been recorded in people aged 60 and over, out of 36,009 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine administered. This number corresponds to a notification rate of 2.2 cases per 10,000, the press release explains, noting that this notification rate is considered rare.

In Morocco, people aged 60 and over represent 20% of the general population. They represent 16.7% of confirmed Covid-19 cases and 75% of deaths due to the virus. The case fatality rate in this category of people is 7.9%, or 15.8 times that observed in those under 60.