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Pfizer and BioNTech launch COVID-19 vaccine with 90% success rate

New Delhi: After Pfizer Inc and BioNTech announced successful interim data earlier on Monday, the work to distribute the experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed by the biotech companies is gearing up.

However, it will not be available in the local pharmacies for the general public any time soon.
The data, which sent U.S. stocks to record highs, showed that the two companies’ experimental vaccine is 90% effective at preventing COVID-19.

While data on safety is still being anticipated, which could come later this month – Pfizer and BioNTech need to get regulators to sign off on the shot before it can start shipping vaccines to those considered most in need by the government wherein healthcare workers and people living in nursing homes will likely top the list.

But the vaccine’s complex and super-cold storage requirements are an obstacle for even the most sophisticated hospitals in the United States and may impact when and where it is available in rural areas or poor countries where resources are tight.

The main issue is that the vaccine, which is based on a novel technology that uses synthetic mRNA to activate the immune system against the virus, needs to be kept at minus 70 degrees Celsius (-94 F) or below.

“The cold chain is going to be one of the most challenging aspects of the delivery of this vaccination,” said Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in a Reuters report.

This is a vaccine that was developed using mRNA technology — it makes use of the messenger RNA molecules that tell cells what proteins to build. The mRNA, in this case, is coded to tell the cells to recreate the spike protein of the novel coronavirus. Once the mRNA is injected into the body, the cells will use its instructions, creating copies of the spike protein, which is in return expected to prompt the immune cells to create antibodies to fight it.

Unlike several other vaccine candidates, mRNA vaccines are synthetically developed — they don’t need the virus to be cultivated and replicated, just the code for the most crucial part that the body’s immune system is to target. Another advantage is that they can be manufactured at a large scale in large vats called bioreactors.

“The results demonstrate that our mRNA-based vaccine can help prevent Covid-19 in the majority of people who receive it. This means we are one step closer to potentially providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global pandemic,” said Albert Bourla, CEO, Pfizer, in a statement upon the release of the results.

“This is a first but critical step as we continue our work to deliver a safe and effective vaccine,” Bourla said.

The phase 3 trials of this vaccine candidate — BNT162b2 — began on July 27 and has so far enrolled 43,538 participants, 38,955 of whom had received a second dose as of November 8.

The University of Oxford backed vaccine candidate, AZD-1222 has been witnessing a bumpy trial in the recent weeks. While early studies and analysis have marked the vaccine safe for use and effective against COVID-19, the discovery of certain complications pushed back the vaccine back.

The vaccine is currently in phase III of testing and working on smoothening out deliveries with its global partners, including India. Latest reports also suggest that authorities have already initiated production of vaccine doses in Australia. This comes after the company alerted hospitals and healthcare workers in the UK to be ‘prepared’ to receive early doses of the vaccine.

UAE may become the third country after China and Russia to start the process of emergency inoculation. Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum released photos on social media, of him receiving an experimental jab of a COVID vaccine.

The region is involved in the clinical trials of two vaccine candidates- one from Russia and another by China, both in phase III testing. So far, none of the vaccines has been approved for large-scale use.

 

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