Chinese CoronaVac:
A Small Brazilian Town Is Beating Covid-19 Through a Unique Experiment
A community starts to return to normal as the pandemic continues to rage across the rest of the South American country.
www.wsj.com
SERRANA, Brazil—This town of 45,000 people in southeastern Brazil has been at the center of a unique experiment for the past three months: vaccinate nearly every adult against Covid-19 and see what happens.
这个四万五千人的小镇参加了一个特殊的实验:全民都打疫苗
In recent weeks, after most of the adults here got their second dose, Covid-19 cases and deaths plunged and life has started to return to normal as the pandemic continues to rage across Brazil.
最近几周所有的成年人都打了两剂疫苗后新冠病例和死亡数量暴跌,生活开始恢复正常,虽然新冠风暴继续在巴西其他地方继续蔓延
All of Serrana’s adults were offered CoronaVac between February and April as part of the experiment, known as Project S. It is the first mass trial of its kind in which an entire town is vaccinated for Covid-19 before the rest of the country.
二月到四月之间所有的Serrana居民都被提供了打科兴疫苗的选择
Not everyone in the town was eligible, including minors under 18, adult women who are pregnant or nursing, and others with serious health problems. Of the roughly 27,700 eligible adults, 27,150, or 98%, were vaccinated, according to town officials.
除了18岁以下的儿童,孕妇和身体健康特别差的人,98%的居民都打了疫苗
Town officials and residents said they are thrilled with the results so far. Infections are down 75% from a March peak in Serrana, while there have been no deaths from Covid-19 among the people who were fully vaccinated, suggesting CoronaVac is also effective against the aggressive P.1 variant sweeping the region.
三月之后没有打了两剂疫苗的人死亡,证明疫苗对P1变种也有效
In the waiting room of the town’s intensive-care unit, the effects of CoronaVac are already visible. “Only three weeks ago, this was so full, people had to stand,” said Lucia Elaine Caldano, the unit’s administrator, pointing to rows of empty chairs. In the past three weeks, only one person has been put on a ventilator—a woman who had refused to take the vaccine.
三个星期以前小镇的重诊病房里住满了人。过去的三星期只有一个不肯打疫苗的女人要上呼吸机
In April, six people died from Covid-19 in Serrana. Of those, five had only taken the first dose of the vaccine. The other victim had symptoms two days after the second dose, suggesting that the disease was contracted between jabs, according to Mayor Capitelli.
镇长说四月份有六个人死于新冠,其中五个只打了一剂疫苗,一个在打了第二剂疫苗后第二天出现症状,表明他打第二剂疫苗之前就感染了新冠
Serrana’s study promises to add clarity to a global mishmash of studies of CoronaVac. In Phase 3 trials carried out by Butantan late last year, it was found to be about 50% effective against symptomatic infections and 100% effective at preventing fatal cases.
The trial’s volunteers were all medical professionals, unlike in the Phase 3 trials of other vaccines such as the one developed by Pfizer Inc., meaning the volunteers were exposed to higher viral loads, potentially leading to a slightly lower efficacy rate, researchers said.
科兴在巴西的第三期试验的参与者都是医务人员,不像其它疫苗(辉瑞)的第三期,估计他们感染了比常人多很多的病毒,影响了疫苗的有效率