Safety and efficacy of Sinopharm vaccine (BBIBP-CorV) in elderly population of Faisalabad district of Pakistan.

INTRODUCTION: The first case of novel SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) in Pakistan was detected on 26 February 2020. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies have been tried to lessen the mortality and morbidity burden. Various vaccines have been approved. The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan gave emergency approval for Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV) COVID-19 vaccine in December 2021. The phase 3 trial of BBIBP-CorV included only 612 participants aged 60 years and above. The primary aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of BBIBPP-CorV (Sinopharm) vaccine within the Pakistani adult population aged 60 or above. The study was carried out in the Faisalabad district of Pakistan. METHODS: A test negative case-control study design was used to assess safety and efficacy of BBIBP-CorV in individuals aged 60 and above against symptomatic infection, hospitalisations and mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 among vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. ORs were calculated using logistic regression model at 95% CI. ORs were used to calculate the vaccine efficacy (VE) by using the following formula.VE= (1-OR) ×100. RESULTS: 3426 individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 were PCR tested between 5 May 2021 and 31 July 2021. The results showed that Sinopharm vaccine 14 days after the second dose was efficient in reducing the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 infection, hospitalisations and mortality by 94.3%, 60.5% and 98.6%, respectively, among vaccinated individuals with a significant p value of 0.001. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that BBIBP-CorV vaccine is highly effective in preventing infection, hospitalisations and mortality due to COVID-19.

Effect Of Three Pakistani Date-Seed Varieties On Lipid Profile Of Diet Induced Hyperlipidemic Rabbits.

BACKGROUND: Hyperlipidemia is one of the major risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. In addition to current therapeutic strategies, a lot of work is being done on nutraceutical management of this condition. This study was designed to assess the effect of date seed powder on lipid profile of diet induced hyperlipidemic rabbits. METHODS: Thirty male rabbits were divided into five groups, having six animals in each. One group was given normal rabbit chow throughout the study period of eight weeks. The remaining four groups were fed high fat diet (4% coconut oil and 1% cholesterol powder) for first four weeks in order to induce hyperlipidemia. After first four weeks, 2% date seed powder of three Pakistani varieties namely Dhakki, Khudrawi and Desi was added to the diet of three experimental hyperlipidemic groups for the next four weeks. Body weight and blood samples were taken at zero, 4th and 8th week of study. Serum was analyzed for total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and serum triglycerides. LDL/HDL ratio and AIP were calculated. RESULTS: It was observed that date seed powder of the three varieties significantly decreased total cholesterol, serum triglycerides and AIP. There was no significant change in body weight, HDL-cholesterol, and LDL/HDL ratio. LDL cholesterol was decreased significantly only by Khudrawi date seed powder. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that date seed powder has marked antihyperlipidemic properties. However, the difference in appearance, taste and price of different dates does not affect their lipid lowering capacity.