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Little by little, the great European powers and those of this part of the world have joined the list of countries that have already begun to immunize their citizens against covid-19 with the Pfizer vaccine, the only one approved so far.
In the middle of this panorama is Colombia, which so far has only officially announced negotiations with several pharmaceutical companies (one of them from Pfizer) and confirmed its presence in the Covax mechanism, promoted by the World Health Organization and which seeks to guarantee access from hundreds of countries to safe and effective vaccines.
(Read also: This will be the vaccination for Colombians)
However, for any coronavirus vaccine to reach the country, the following conditions must be taken into account:
1. Sources
Access to vaccines has two possible sources in this first phase: the Covax mechanism and direct agreements with pharmaceutical companies. Through the first, more than 180 countries should have equal access to the vaccine, a goal that moves away as rich countries have monopolized the largest production of the biological. Covax, it is worth remembering, does not have in its portfolio Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, which are the most advanced developments. And to that extent, we must wait for those who are under the mechanism to obtain sanitary approval and start their production.
Colombia bet on this mechanism as its main axis. However, it is known that many countries have already monopolized a large part of the first productions to the point that some already have nine vaccines per capita and others, the majority, not one. From the mechanism, it is worth saying, they try to fight the inequalities that these pressures generate, but it is difficult.
(Also read: Colombia sets rules for emergency use of vaccines against covid-19)
2. Hard dispute
Regarding private and direct agreements, it must be considered that the high-income countries negotiated in advance and in many cases financed research and development of vaccines. For this reason, the production of the most advanced laboratories is committed at least in 2021.
Scaling production, at least when it comes to new technology platforms, is not easy. Hence, different sectors insist on the imperative need to close an agreement and guarantee that Colombia is not the last.
(You may be interested: Why hasn’t the Pfizer CEO had the covid-19 vaccine?)
3. Surplus
In a second phase, rich countries that have secured more than one dose per capita will have surpluses. This means that when they have reached their goal of immunity, it is likely that through bilateral agreements and negotiations those of medium and low income will be able to supply themselves, something that would not happen before 2022.
4. Various negotiations
In the case of Colombia, the Government has announced that it expects to receive 20 million doses through Covax and 10 million through bilateral agreements.
The estimates that have been made public are that Covax will deliver the vaccines it manages to obtain in 2021.
Regarding the bilateral agreements, the Government has announced that to date agreements have been negotiated under confidentiality with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Janssen, two Chinese institutes and an Indian institute. From these dialogues there is no known closing of any business to date. It must also be considered that of these laboratories, Pfizer and the two Chinese are in the production stage, which would be the agreements through which the first units could be had if, indeed, the negotiations are closed.
(See: FDA Considers Modern Vaccine Safe and Effective)
5. They open the door to approval
The draft decree project that establishes the emergency use framework and that allows the sanitary authorization of the candidate vaccines to reach Colombia has just been known. This document is still under review and in public consultation until December 24, so it still has a way to go, since surely the pharmaceutical companies will have observations before it is issued.
It is also worth remembering that the National Government has said through the Ministry of Health that vaccination will be carried out through a scheme that prioritizes the population at greatest risk (15 million) in the first half of 2021. Although President Iván Duque told the Newspaper The Herald that immunizations will begin between January and February.
HEALTH UNIT
