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

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.