(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia found that Sinovac Biotech Ltd.'s Covid-19 vaccine was less effective at protecting against death and severe illness in April to June, compared with the previous three months.
The shots prevented 79% of deaths and 53% of hospitalization in April to June, compared with 95% and 74%, respectively, in January to March, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, spokeswoman for the government's Covid-19 task force, said in a briefing on Friday. She didn't give a reason for the drop in the vaccine's effectiveness.
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“This means that the delta variant raises the risks for healthcare workers, while still providing protection,” Tarmizi said via text message.
The world's fourth-most populous country is battling a virus resurgence driven by the highly-transmissible delta variant that has led it to top the world's tally of daily Covid-19 deaths. The country is highly reliant on the Chinese-made shots, which account for about one-third of total vaccine supply expected through December.
The government has administered booster shots for healthcare workers using Moderna Inc. doses while maintaining that additional shots won't be given more widely.
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