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The former Minister of Health and former mayor of Lourdes and Toulouse, Philippe Douste-Blazy, returns for the Dépêche du Midi on the announcements of the Pfizer laboratories on the discovery of a 90% effective anti-Covid vaccine. This shows some caution. Interview.
Did the American laboratory Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech discover the vaccine against Covid-19?
No, we can’t be that positive at this stage. This is good news, we need a vaccine against this coronavirus, but we need to remain extremely careful and sift through the coming months.
Pfizer talks about 90% effectiveness of its vaccine. What does it mean ?
The test involves 40,000 participants, half of whom received the candidate vaccine, the other half a placebo. A total of 94 participants contracted the disease, of which only nine were among those vaccinated and thus 85 were in the placebo group. It is this comparison that makes Pfizer claim that its vaccine is 90% effective and is indeed extremely positive.
As a reminder, WHO believes a vaccine is effective when it reaches 50%. We are above that level here, but once again we have to be careful.
Why so much caution?
All vaccinated people were vaccinated at the latest two months ago. This is too short a time to judge vaccine protection, when we know there is a risk of reinfection with this coronavirus. I am referring to the 1960s, when we thought we had found a vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus (a very contagious respiratory infection that mainly affects young children, ed).
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However, this vaccine had a short duration of protection and when one was reinfected, the disease developed a much more severe form than the first time. Same scenario just a few years ago with dengue. We must therefore be sure that this vaccine protects for a long time and sufficiently.
Exactly, do we know exactly what this vaccine protects against?
Not entirely. Pfizer says its vaccine is effective against signs of the disease (fever, body aches, loss of taste or smell, etc.), but we know nothing about how it works against the infection itself. However, this is a crucial point in judging its effectiveness.
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In addition to this, what I want to say is that for two days we have been entitled to the communication of a private company, certainly very serious, but I am waiting for an important scientific publication to reach the same results with a high-level and independent scientific committee.
Is it really feasible to produce a vaccine in such a short time?
We didn’t think so before this pandemic, but the technique used, messenger RNA *, actually saves several months.
Is the competition over?
Absolutely not. There are at least a dozen vaccines around the world that are in phase 3, i.e. tested on several thousand people (see below). Furthermore, at least one of them, the American Moderna, uses the same method as Pfizer. Until we are certain, these tests must continue.
If this vaccine is the right one, how much will it cost?
We are talking about a price between 25 and 30 dollars per dose, or more than 50 dollars for the two necessary doses. This will not be a problem for Western nations, but it may be a hindrance for some developing countries.
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Which, moreover, will face another challenge: this vaccine must be stored at – 70 ° C, which can pose logistics and distribution problems. However, as with any pandemic, we need all humans to have access to the vaccine. Otherwise, we run the risk of the disease returning.
Is France guaranteed to be adequately served?
Yes. Europe has already ordered 300 million doses and, in this context, France will be served without problems. The state would then have to bear the full cost of vaccination.
Indeed, the question is currently sparking public debate: Should vaccination be mandatory?
My answer is that of a scientist and not a politician: a vaccine can only be mandatory if it is perfectly effective and if it has proved completely harmless. With the current state of knowledge on this vaccine, these conditions still seem far from being met.
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