[ad_1]
Posted on 12/13/2020 07:00
(Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / AFP)
If, on the one hand, the pandemic has stopped the circulation of people, it has stimulated and accelerated the technological development of vaccines. There are more than 270 under investigation, with more than 50 in the clinical development phase. In the race for a solution, immunizers with RNA technology are at the finish line. Being a new type of vaccine, it still faces barriers such as the need for storage at extremely low temperatures, which can make it difficult to incorporate in much of the world. The developers are working towards an improvement that allows for greater accessibility.
Vaccines using this technology are being prepared first because they are made up of genetic material. “Laboratories, industries, were already working with these genetic compounds for other types of viruses, such as Ebola and HIV. So, when this need arose to have a vaccine in a very short time, one of the fastest ways was to invest in an RNA or DNA (vaccine), the so-called nucleic acid vaccines ”, explains Ricardo Agostinho Canteras, director of logistics specialist commercial and cold chain of Temp Log.
For covid-19, specifically, they work in the following way: a genetic compound is modified to contain the genetic traits of Sars-CoV-2, which causes the cells of our body to develop immunity. RNA vaccines are coming out first, basically because they develop much faster, require less time for preclinical testing, and because they are synthetic chemicals, not viruses. For this reason, Canteras adds, “these RNA vaccines, despite logistical difficulties, can be powerful weapons against this and other pandemics, mainly due to the speed of production. It can be verified that, of the vaccines that are already in the last phase of testing, all are working with RNA, viral vector or proteins. Vaccines against the virus are the last due to the delay in the preclinical phase. It’s a longer study than is necessary for synthetically produced vaccines in the laboratory. “
In Brazil, the federal government is negotiating the purchase of 70 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, developed with RNA technology. “The deadlines are already well advanced and should be specified at the beginning of this week with the signing of the memorandum of intent,” says a note from the Ministry of Health. Despite being one of the most promising alternatives in the world, with a 95% effective advertisement. , the viability of the vaccine, in the Brazilian reality, is a challenge, since, being a technology, the doses must be stored at temperatures below 70ºC.
Another movement that brings the acquisition closer is the investment released to equip the cold chain of vaccination centers and rooms throughout the country. An ordinance of the Ministry of Health, published in the Official Gazette a few days before the negotiations with Pfizer advanced, allocates almost R $ 60 million to the states and the Federal District for the purchase of cold rooms, air conditioners and computers. Exceptionally in the context of the fight against covid-19, the destiny of destiny is to strengthen the National Immunization Program (PNI).
The portfolio had already aroused interest, commenting that Pfizer would be a possible candidate from Brazil for the Covax Facility consortium, which brings together a portfolio of 10 vaccines. “Brazil has joined this consortium since the development of the 10 vaccines, with the option to buy and receive 42 million doses that can be from one of the 10 manufacturers that are within the consortium. Even AstraZeneca and Pfizer, for example, are in the consortium, ”said General Eduardo Pazuello.
Extra exforço
The plan is that Pfizer’s dose purchases will be able to “immunize millions of Brazilians already in the first half” of 2021, as Pfizer reported last week. The drugmaker has already negotiated doses with more than 30 nations and, in the UK, immunization began this week.
Even with the advancements, getting this vaccine to the fore will take some extra effort. In Canteras’ opinion, vaccines with other technologies will reach Brazil sooner. “RNA immunizations are coming, they will probably be the first to be launched worldwide, but to be able to apply them to the entire population, vaccines from groups of virus sources, such as CoronaVac, and others that are already in use, will surely also be used. production. They are vaccines that require a temperature of 2º to 8ºC, with less complexity ”. For the vaccination of the entire population, says the cold chain logistics specialist, “we should not worry so much about these extremely low-temperature vaccines, because, to reach everyone, other types of immunizers will be used, with good logistics designed. less complex “.
