BMC Public Health (Aug 2022)

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

  • Yaowen Zhang,
  • Jihane Belayachi,
  • Yunkai Yang,
  • Qiang Fu,
  • Lance Rodewald,
  • Hongling Li,
  • Bing Yan,
  • Ying Wang,
  • Yanna Shen,
  • Qian Yang,
  • Weiyun Mu,
  • Rong Tang,
  • Chen Su,
  • Tianfang Xu,
  • Majdouline Obtel,
  • Abdelkader Mhayi,
  • Rachid Razine,
  • Redouane Abouqal,
  • Yuntao Zhang,
  • Xiaoming Yang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14016-9
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

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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.

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