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Preliminary results of clinical studies of vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and by the laboratory AstraZeneca Global hopes of tackling covid-19 are rising. The immunizer, which is in phase 3, showed an efficacy of 90% with the administration of half a dose, in the first step, and a full dose, in the second. In other words, according to the survey, two full doses are not necessary for each individual, as initially assessed.
This means that more people can get vaccinated with a smaller amount of the immunizer. The discovery made by Fundao Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), which will produce the doses in Brazil, foresees the vaccination of 136.5 million people in 2021. There is still no statement from the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), but the intention is that the doses begin to be applied in March.
The estimate is 30% higher than previously forecast by Fiocruz. “In the first semester, we will have 100.4 million doses to offer to 50.2 million Brazilians. However, with this announced protocol, the same 100.4 million doses could be used to vaccinate about 65 million people, “said Fiocruz Vice President of Production and Health Innovation, Marco Krieger. “In the second semester, with a 100% national production in Fiocruz and more than 110 million doses, we will be able to vaccinate 71.5 million more people. This places the country in a privileged position among nations that will have a large number of dose for their populations. “
The president of Fiocruz, Nsia Trindade, celebrated the planned change in the vaccine schedule that will benefit more people. “This vaccine is no longer a promising candidate to be a vaccine that will be produced by Fiocruz and a Brazilian public health response,” he said.
Fiocruz signed a total technology transfer agreement with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca for the production of the immunizer in Brazil, which will be carried out by the Institute of Technology in Immunobiology (Bio-Manguinhos / Fiocruz).
The technology transfer process for the vaccine should take place in two stages. Initially, the active pharmaceutical ingredient (IFA), which is the raw material of the vaccine, will be sent by AstraZeneca to Brazil so that the first doses of the immunizer can be prepared and distributed in March. In a second moment, from the middle of the year, after having completed the technological incorporation, Bio-Manguinhos will be able to produce the IFA independently.
According to the director of Bio-Manguinhos, Mauricio Zuma, the price of the Oxford vaccine is one of the advantages. “We are working on the schedule, with an expected production of 210.4 million doses in 2021, with an extremely affordable value per dose, between US $ 3 and US $ 4 (around R $ 16 to R $ 22) and a vaccine that can be stored and transported at 2 ° C and 8 ° C, and that can be distributed and stored using all the logistics already in place in the National Immunization Program (PNI) ”, he emphasized. In comparison, the Pfizer vaccine, for example, needs to be kept at a temperature of -70 ° C, which would be a problem for Brazil, which does not have this type of storage logistics.
Balano
Although the population still does not have access to the solution against covid-19, Brazil suffers from the possibility of a second wave of the disease. The update of the balance of cases of the new coronavirus carried out by the Ministry of Health yesterday confirmed 16,207 more positive diagnoses and 302 deaths in 24 hours. As a result, Brazil has 6,087,608 confirmations and 169,485 lives lost.
According to the Covid-19 Brazil Portal, an initiative formed by researchers from the University of Braslia (UnB) and the University of So Paulo (USP), the country should reach the 170,000 mark of covid victims today.
With the new figures, the moving averages of cases and deaths fluctuate. According to an analysis by the National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass), 496 people die every day and there is an additional 30,163 cases daily.
The Health Ministry even formalized the intention to buy CoronaVac through a letter sent to the director of Butantan in October, but President Jair Bolsonaro canceled the document. In November, the Planalto boss took a step back and said he could buy the vaccine. However, nothing is officially decided yet. (MEC)
