Sinopharm Vaccine, SARS-CoV-2 Breakthrough Infections and Hemoglobinopathies

Rujittika Mungmunpuntipantip1 and Viroj Wiwanitkit2.

1 Private Academic Consultant, Bangkok Thailand  ORCID 0000-0003-0078-7897
2 Honorary Professor, Dr DY Patil University, Pune, India ORCID 0000-0003-1039-3728.

Correspondence to: Rujittika Mungmunpuntipantip. Private Academic Consultant, Bangkok Thailand. E-mail: rujittika@gmail.com

Published: July 1, 2022
Received: April 22, 2022
Accepted: June 18, 2022 
Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis 2022, 14(1): e2022060 DOI 10.4084/MJHID.2022.060

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

To the editor

We read and followed the publication on the "Efficacy and Safety of Sinopharm Vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 and breakthrough infections in Iranian Patients with Hemoglobinopathies: A Preliminary Report".[1] According to Karimi et al., there were no safety concerns in patients who received two doses of the Sinopharm Vaccine. While its efficacy was not optimal due to the lack of effect on new virus variations, the data show that it appears protective against the severity of COVID-19 infection in patients with hemoglobinopathies.[1] We all agree that the inactivated COVID-19 vaccination protects against serious illness. The current report can confirm the safety and efficacy of certain vaccines with underlying hemoglobinopathies. Hemoglobin E deficiency is extremely common in our environment, Southeast Asia. Hemoglobin E carriers account for almost a third of the local population.[2] The efficacy and safety of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccination have also been shown based on local data,[3,4] similar to the current report by Karimi et al. According to statistics on the efficacy of inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine in our scenario, 60.6 percent of patients had seroconversion evaluated by sVNT 4 weeks after finishing the SV vaccination, which is comparable to patients recovered from moderate COVID-19 infection (69.0 percent).[3] The inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine's side effects were typically well-tolerated and unremarkable. In one-fifth to one-third of vaccine recipients, pain at the injection site and headache are the two most common side effects.[5]
It should be concluded that the inactive COVID-19 Vaccine protects against infection and that using it to vaccinate persons with underlying hemoglobinopathies poses no medical risk.


References   

  1. Karimi M, Zarei T, Haghpanah S, Azarkeivan A, Naderi M, Matin S, Bazrafshan A, Zahedi Z, Shirkavand A, Pishdad P, De Sanctis V. Efficacy and Safety of Sinopharm Vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 and breakthrough infections in Iranian Patients with Hemoglobinopathies: A Preliminary Report. Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis. 2022 Mar 1;14(1):e2022026. doi: 10.4084/MJHID.2022.026. eCollection 2022. https://doi.org/10.4084/MJHID.2022.026 PMid:35444764 PMCid:PMC8992638  
  2. Fucharoen S, Weatherall DJ. The hemoglobin E thalassemias. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2012 Aug 1;2(8):a011734. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a011734 PMid:22908199 PMCid:PMC3405827  
  3. Jantarabenjakul W, Chantasrisawad N, Puthanakit T, Wacharapluesadee S, Hirankarn N, Ruenjaiman V, Paitoonpong L, Suwanpimolkul G, Torvorapanit P, Pradit R, Sophonphan J, Putcharoen O. Short-term immune response after inactivated SARS-CoV-2 (CoronaVac®, Sinovac) and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Vaxzevria®, Oxford-AstraZeneca) vaccinations in health care workers. Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol. 2021 Oct 31. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.27.21262721  
  4. Kittikraisak W, Hunsawong T, Punjasamanvong S, Wongrapee T, Suttha P, Piyaraj P, Leepiyasakulchai C, Tanathitikorn C, Yoocharoen P, Jones AR, Mongkolsirichaikul D, Westercamp M, Azziz-Baumgartner E, Mott JA, Chottanapund S. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody levels among Thai healthcare providers receiving homologous and heterologous COVID-19 vaccination regimens. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2022 Feb 24. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3990107
  5. Mahasirimongkol S, Khunphon A, Kwangsukstid O, Sapsutthipas S, Wichaidit M, Rojanawiwat A, Wichuckchinda N, Puangtubtim W, Pimpapai W, Soonthorncharttrawat S, Wanitchang A, Jongkaewwattana A, Srisutthisamphan K, Phainupong D, Thawong N, Piboonsiri P, Sawaengdee W, Somsaard T, Ritthitham K, Chumpol S, Pinyosukhee N, Wichajarn R, Dhepakson P, Iamsirithaworn S, Phumiamorn S. The Pilot Study of Immunogenicity and Adverse Events of a COVID-19 Vaccine Regimen: Priming with Inactivated Whole SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (CoronaVac) and Boosting with the Adenoviral Vector (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) Vaccine. Vaccines (Basel) . 2022 Mar 30;10(4):536. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10040536 PMid:35455285 PMCid:PMC9028748

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