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meIt was an early Christmas present: on Monday night, earlier than expected, the European Commission granted final approval for Biontech and Pfizer’s vaccine against Covid-19.
Starting on December 27, mass vaccinations in the fight against the pandemic will begin in several EU countries, including Germany.
Europeans’ joy for the first vaccine approved here is clouded by the emergence of a new variant of the virus that is spreading primarily in Britain and is apparently much more contagious than the previous form.
Analysis of the effectiveness against the mutation is already underway
The urgent question now is whether the new vaccine, which should be available in the EU from tomorrow, also protects against the mutated form of Sars-CoV-2.
It was therefore the most frequently asked question to Biontech boss Ugur Sahin at the Mainz-based company’s press conference, which was called on short notice. “We will know more in about two weeks,” Sahin said.
The corresponding analyzes have already begun. However, he thinks the existing vaccine is very likely to protect against the new variant as well.
This is because the vaccine is directed against the entire spike protein in the virus envelope, and this remains unchanged by more than 99 percent despite the mutations that have occurred.
But even if the protective effect is not enough, Biontech and Pfizer could at least technically provide a remedy quickly, Sahin promised: “We could develop a new version of the vaccine on our existing platform in six weeks.”
However, it is unclear how the supervisory authorities would evaluate such a new version and how quickly such an update could get through the approval process.
Joe Biden gets vaccinated live on US television.
With his vaccination broadcast live on US television in Delaware, US President-designate Joe Biden wants to set an example: build trust in coronavirus vaccines that have been developed in record time.
Source: WELT / Nancy Lanzendörfer
Biontech looks completely on time with the expected delivery of its vaccine. In the next week, the first 12.5 million doses of vaccine will be distributed in the EU.
In the US, which had already granted emergency approval for the vaccine on December 11 and where vaccinations have already started, it is said that by the end of the year there will be 20 million doses.
In total, Biontech and its US partner Pfizer want to deliver around 50 million cans worldwide by the end of the year. By the end of next year there should be 1.3 billion doses of vaccine.
“The only remaining uncertainty that cannot be hidden”
The President of the German Medical Association, Dr. Klaus Reinhardt, welcomes the approval of the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine. In an interview with WELT, he is optimistic that vaccinations can also be done in doctors’ offices in the course of the spring.
Source: WORLD / Felicia Pochhammer
Sahin said more production sites are continually being sought in order to rapidly expand manufacturing capabilities.
Meanwhile, 45 countries around the world have approved the vaccine. In the EU, the vaccine, previously known by the active ingredient abbreviation BNT162b2, now also has a trade name: “Comirnaty”.
This was selected from more than 1,000 suggestions and was a combination of the words Covid-19, mRNA, community and immunity, explained production manager Sean Marrett.
In the case of the scarce vaccine, which had been shown to be more than 90 percent effective in clinical studies, competition among industrialized countries broke out long ago.
According to information from the Bloomberg news agency, the US is trying to exercise an option for 100 million more cans. Most of the doses planned for next year, enough to immunize 650 million people, have already been booked.
Meanwhile, the non-governmental organization ONE renewed its criticism, according to which Biontech has so far opposed a globally fair distribution of the vaccine. Biontech boss Sahin has repeatedly spoken out in favor of making a new corona vaccine available to all who need it around the world.
“We don’t need a ‘Europe first'”
The necessary steps for this are still pending, said Stephan Exo-Kreischer, director of ONE Germany: “In practice, we don’t see any of that.”
So far, no discounts have been announced for developing countries, nor is there cooperation with the international vaccine initiative Covax.
“We don’t need ‘Europe first’, we need an eye for the big picture. Everyone in the world needs access to the vaccine. Otherwise, the pandemic will last longer than necessary and will fall on our feet, ”said Exo-Screecher.
