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BNT162b2. This is the name given to the project for the first vaccine to be massively applied in the Western world to prevent infection with the new coronavirus. It was developed by the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer (USA) and BioNTech (Germany), has an efficiency of more than 90 percent and yesterday it received the approval of the British authorities to start fighting the pandemic in the pharmacological framework.
The announcement was made by the UK Department of Health when it revealed that the UK Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) gave the green light to the product after analyzing the preliminary results of studies by phase III, which included dozens of thousands of people on the planet.
“The approval follows months of rigorous clinical studies and an exhaustive analysis of the data by MHRA experts, who concluded that the vaccine meets rigorous levels of safety, quality and efficacy,” says a statement released by the Ministry of Health.
This is a historical fact, as recognized by the infectologist Carlos Álvarez, if you take this into account its research, development, production and approval took place in less than a year since China notified the first cases of pneumonia detected in late 2019, which was later named covid-19.
(Also read: 10 things to know about Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine)
In this period, the world has recorded nearly 64 million infections and about 1.5 million deaths from covid-19. The UK in particular is one of the countries most affected by the pandemic. Its figures point to nearly 59,000 confirmed deaths and a resumption of the epidemic in the middle of winter.
Álvarez adds that this announcement is the beginning of an era in which the approvals of other vaccine projects will be progressively confirmed which aim to end the pandemic.
But beyond the symbolic, the truth is that from next week the UK will start with a vaccination program in which it intends to immunize 20 million people (35 percent of its population) on double doses of the drug.
What has not been leaked is how the logistics required by this vaccine will be guaranteed, as it must be kept at -70 degrees Celsius. But nevertheless, it is known that the pharmaceutical company already has special containers to bring the doses in good condition to the dispensing sites; as well as the air and land transport companies that will mobilize the product have made the necessary adjustments.
Although the UK regulatory agency has taken the first step, the same request for the emergency application goes before the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which are due to rule in the coming days.
(See: Europe decides on first covid-19 vaccine before 29 December)
The logistics that the UK will implement
Vaccination in the UK will target the most vulnerable populations, the over 65s and frontline employees in hospitals. The first 400,000 people are expected to receive two injections 21 days apart.
In the first phase, the vaccination process will be controlled by the National Health Service, but would have the support of the military forces for the logistics and distribution of vaccine shipments. Six mega vaccination centers will be installed at a second level; two of which include two racecourses with the capacity to receive up to 130,000 people each. At a third level, vaccines will be “standardized” in local health centers.
On the vaccine
BNT162b2 uses a novel technique in which a genetic platform takes a fragment of mRNA (the virus’s ribonucleic acid) and covers it with a fat (lipid) to introduce it into the human body and teach the immune system to know and fight the coronavirus. The RNA fragment does not cause the infection but is only part of the virus that is produced synthetically, explains the infectologist Carlos Pérez.
Specifically, when it enters cells it carries the message so that the S spike protein of the new coronavirus is produced within them. This protein is identified by the defenses as a foreign element and causes the immune system to produce antibodies and active cells to attack them. These defenses remain in memory and when the true coronavirus reaches the body, biological tools already exist to prevent it from multiplying.
Experimentally, the vaccine was 94.5% effective, with no serious adverse effects, and two doses are required for its full action.
(We recommend: Vaccine at all costs: reflections after days of intense public debate)
Although Pfizer has announced that it will be able to produce 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021, which could be increased if combined with others, it is known that for now the first to receive it will be the population most at risk in England. The company assures that the United States has already reserved more than 100 million doses; the European Union, another 300 million and Colombia negotiates the purchase of 10 million. For now, it has not been confirmed in the COVAX mechanism portfolio.
(In context: Colombia prepares to purchase 10 million doses of Pfizer vaccine)
While these announcements are promising, health care provider Elizabeth Beltrán indicates the pandemic is still ongoing. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) itself has warned that when the vaccination process begins, in which only risk groups are initially immunized, the global death toll should decrease, but not the number of infections. .
“The vaccine will be another tool we have to stop transmission, but it won’t be the end of the virus”said WHO director for covid-19, Maria Van Kerkhove.
Infectologist Carlos Álvarez adds that, among other things, the duration of the vaccine’s immunity is still unknown and mass applications will take months in some countries. And that’s why he insists that measures like proper mask use, hand washing and physical distance are still the best vaccine.
SANITARY UNIT
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