Comparison of Biological, Pharmacological Characteristics, Indications, Contraindications, Efficacy, and Adverse Effects of Inactivated Whole-Virus COVID-19 Vaccines Sinopharm, CoronaVac, and Covaxin: An Observational Study

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging viral zoonotic illness that has developed a distinctive and threatening situation globally. Worldwide, many vaccines were introduced to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to compare the bio-pharmacological characteristics, indications, contraindications, efficacy, and adverse effects of inactivated whole-virus COVID-19 vaccines, Sinopharm, CoronaVac, and Covaxin. Initially, 262 documents and 6 international organizations were selected. Finally, 41 articles, fact sheets, and international organizations were included. The data were recorded from the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) USA, Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus. The results demonstrated that these three inactivated whole-virus COVID-19 vaccines, Sinopharm, CoronaVac, and Covaxin, received emergency approval from the FDA/WHO, and all three of these vaccines are beneficial for the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sinopharm vaccine has been recommended during pregnancy and for people of all age groups, and the CoronaVac and Covaxin vaccines are recommended for people over 18 years of age and older. These three vaccines have recommended intramuscular doses of 0.5 mL each, with a 3-4 week interval. These three vaccines can be stored in a refrigerator at +2 to +8 degrees C. The common adverse effects of these vaccines are pain at the injection site, redness, fatigue, headache, myalgias, general lethargy, body ache, arthralgia, nausea, chills, fever, and dizziness. The overall mean efficiency for the prevention of the COVID-19 disease is 73.78% for Sinopharm, 70.96% for CoronaVac, and 61.80% for Covaxin. In conclusion, all three inactivated whole-virus COVID-19 vaccines, Sinopharm, CoronaVac, and Covaxin, are beneficial for the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, evidence suggests that the overall impact of Sinopharm is slightly better than that of CoronaVac and Covaxin.