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BNT162b2. That is the name given to the project for the first vaccine to be applied massively in the Western world to prevent infection with the new coronavirus. It was developed by the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer (United States) and BioNTech (Germany), it has an efficiency of over 90 percent and yesterday received the approval of the British authorities to begin to fight against the pandemic in the pharmacological framework.
The announcement was made by the UK Ministry of Health when it revealed that the Regulatory Agency for Medicines and Health Products (MHRA) of that country gave the go-ahead to the product after analyzing the preliminary results of phase III trials, which included dozens of thousands of people on the planet.
“The approval follows months of rigorous clinical trials and an exhaustive analysis of the data by MHRA experts, who concluded that the vaccine meets strict levels of safety, quality and effectiveness,” said a statement released by the Ministry of Health.
It is a historical fact, as recognized by the infectologist Carlos Álvarez, if one takes into account that its research, development, production and approval took place in less than a year since China notified the first detected cases of pneumonia at the end of 2019, which was later called covid-19.
(Also read: 10 things to know about Pfizer’s vaccine against covid-19)
In this time, the world has registered almost 64 million infections and about 1.5 million deaths from covid-19. The UK in particular is one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic. His figures dictate almost 59,000 confirmed deaths and a reactivation 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 that aim to help end the pandemic.
But beyond the symbolic, the truth is that from next week the United Kingdom will begin with a vaccination program in which it intends to immunize 20 million people (35 percent of its population) with double doses of the drug.
What has not transpired is the way in which the logistics required for this vaccine will be guaranteed, since it must be kept at -70 degrees Celsius. But nevertheless, It is known that the pharmaceutical company already has special containers to take 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 necessary adaptations.
Although the English regulatory agency took the first step, the same request for the emergency application goes before the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which must pronounce in the next days.
(See: Europe decides on the first covid-19 vaccine before December 29)
The logistics that the United Kingdom will implement
Vaccination in the UK will target the most vulnerable populations, over 65, and front-line employees in hospitals. The first 400,000 people are expected to receive, 21 days apart, two injections.
In the first stage, the vaccination process will be controlled by the National Health Service, but it would have the support of the military forces for the logistics and distribution of vaccine shipments. At a second level, six mega vaccination centers will be installed; two of which include two racetracks with the capacity to receive up to 130,000 people each. At a third level, vaccines will be “standardized” in local health care centers.
About the vaccine
BNT162b2 uses an unprecedented technique in which a genetic platform takes a fragment of the mRNA (ribonucleic acid of the virus) and covers it with a fat (lipid) to introduce it into the human body and teach the immune system to know the coronavirus and fight it. The RNA fragment does not cause infection but is only a part of the virus that is made synthetically, explains infectologist Carlos Pérez.
Specifically, when it enters cells it carries the message so that the spike S protein of the new coronavirus is produced inside them. This protein is identified by the defenses as a foreign element and causes the immune system to make antibodies and active cells to attack them. These defenses remain in memory and when the true coronavirus reaches the body, there are already biological tools to prevent it from multiplying.
At the experimental level, the vaccine was 94.5 percent 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 announced that it is capable of manufacturing 1.3 billion doses before the end of 2021, which could be increased if it is associated 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 portfolio of the COVAX mechanism.
(In context: Colombia is preparing to purchase 10 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine)
While these announcements are promising, health worker Elizabeth Beltrán indicates that the pandemic is still ongoing. In fact, the same World Health Organization (WHO) warned that when the vaccination process begins, in which at first only risk groups will be immunized, the global death toll is expected to drop, but not contagion. .
“The vaccine will be another tool we have to stop transmission, but it will not be the end of the virus”said the WHO director for covid-19, Maria Van Kerkhove.
The 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 is why he insists that measures such as the correct use of a mask, hand washing and physical distance are still the best vaccine.
HEALTH UNIT
