Koronovios – Mosialos: Around 5 million doses of Pfizer initially in Greece – What did you comment on the side effects and conspiracy theories? HELLAS

Elias Mosialos made a new post about the developments related to the coronavirus vaccine.

The professor of Political Health, in a post on Facebook, speaks of “pleasant news” since in addition to the two vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, good news is also expected from the Russian vaccine. He even stressed that other companies that develop vaccines will bring more good news in the “coming weeks.” He commented that he estimates that within 2021, coverage of vaccines against the coronavirus may cover even half of the world’s population.

Mosialos also notes that he estimates that around 5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine will reach Greece to start with, but also that within the next year there will be access to vaccines from other companies.

As for the side effects of the vaccine, he pointed out that they appear in the first week, but he does not rule out that they may exist later, but the chances of that happening are small.

Mosialos post

“The news from the vaccine front is excellent. We have two vaccines (Pfizer / BioNTech) and Moderna with very high efficacy and very good initial results from the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine. We will know more in the coming weeks.

I think we will probably have good news for the Russian vaccine (it belongs in the same category as the Oxford vaccine) and for vaccines from other companies and universities that use techniques similar to Pfizer and Moderna.

This will be extremely important because there will be enough vaccines to cover 30 to 50% of the world’s population in 2021. Three vaccines alone (Pfizer / Moderna / Oxford) are not enough to cover all needs.

The European Commission’s vaccine pre-purchase agreement stipulates that the 27 countries of the European Union will purchase 200 million Pfizer vaccines with an additional supply of 100 million doses. These quotas will be enough to cover 150 million European citizens. However, the European Commission has signed similar agreements with AstaZeneca / Oxford, Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi, and negotiations have started with Moderna and Curevax and Novavax.

My estimate (without having access to the data) is that initially 4 to 5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine will arrive in Greece and between 2 and 250,000 of our compatriots will be vaccinated. First, those living in nursing homes and closed structures and the country’s health personnel should be vaccinated. Immediately after the teachers, professors, guides of MMM and those who are at the forefront in the provision of services and at the same time those who belong to vulnerable groups and those over 60 years old. However, I think that we will have access to vaccines from other companies and therefore allow the majority of Greeks to get vaccinated in 2021.

Vaccination should not be mandatory. There are already so many conspiracy theories about vaccines and mandatory participation will intensify them. A friend of mine said recently that it is better not to make vaccinations mandatory because that way we will benefit those who want to be vaccinated and we do not have priority. I do not agree with this attitude. If our compatriots who need them do not make the vaccines because some have convinced them that they are dangerous, then they will have a problem if they are exposed to the virus.

No vaccine will get a marketing authorization if it is not safe. The vast majority of side effects occur during the first week after receiving the vaccine. Can we have side effects later? Yes, you can, but the chances are slim. And until the vaccines reach Greece, it will be 4-6 months since the start of the clinical trials and we will have more information. No vaccine will be approved without evidence of at least 2 months of safety.

Many will say that it happened and we discovered vaccines so soon? Are you playing something strange? Were there discounts on discovery and production processes? The unprecedented speed of vaccine development has not been achieved by chance or at scientific discounting. On the contrary, it was achieved thanks

• the rapid expression of the genetic makeup of the virus
• the use of existing platforms for the design and production of vaccines, and the unprecedented participation – of the general public and not just the population – in clinical trials
• of large investments for clinical trials
• the start of vaccine production, even before authorization is granted (with great financial risk for governments financing production and companies).

Will we have Covid in our lives every year and will we haunt it with its continuous mutations and vaccinations? Now we have the know-how and many possibilities and options with all these candidate vaccines, so that if the virus mutates we can slightly modify the vaccine and if we need to repeat it every year. This is also the case with the flu vaccine.

Are there doubts about the efficacy of vaccines? Yes, uncertainties arise on the one hand from the short time we study the virus itself and on the other hand from the short time that vaccines are tested. We do not know the duration of immunity, that is, if we need to be vaccinated annually or at other regular intervals, as we generally do not know about long-term immunity to this virus. Nor do we know if vaccines will prevent the spread of the disease, that is, from those who have done it to those who have not. Let’s say here that clinical trials don’t stop the moment volunteers receive the vaccine or the moment the company gets approval and permission to launch the vaccine. Therefore, these answers will be given by monitoring the volunteers who have already been vaccinated.

We have to endure a few more months, so that the health system does not collapse and we do not have great losses.

We will defeat the crown, he will not defeat us. With the help of science and the observance of public health measures.