NEW DELHI: Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director of the Indian Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi (AIIMS), Delhi, said on Wednesday that the results of the phase III trials of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine are very encouraging, But keeping it at very low temperatures, -70 degrees C, will be a challenge for India and other nations, especially in rural areas.
Speaking to ANI, Guleria said: “The challenge with the Pfizer vaccine is that it must be kept at a very low temperature, -70 degrees Celsius. That for low- and middle-income countries would be a great challenge to maintain the cold chain. , because having a vaccine that needs to be kept at low temperatures, especially in smaller cities, rural India is going to be a challenge. This vaccine has a lot of potential, but we will have to see other vaccines come out as well. Very encouraging news in the field Vaccine Research For All Vaccine Candidates In Phase III Trials “.
Guleria said that while the claims made by Pfizer need to be reviewed by experts, the announcement was a very promising sign for the other vaccines being made.
“The data, which has been published by Pfizer, although not peer-reviewed, is very encouraging. In phase III trials, more than 40,000 patients were vaccinated, some received the vaccine, some received placebo, and were followed up to see how many of them received Covid-19. It showed high efficacy, almost 90 percent. The data needs to be analyzed more carefully. It is encouraging not only for the Pfizer vaccine, but also for other vaccines manufactured by different companies, “he said . .
The director of AIIMS elaborated further: “It suggests that any vaccine we are making has the potential to provide good immunogenicity and good protection as far as Covid-19 is concerned.”
Speaking about the challenges in the efficiency and duration of the vaccine, for which it will provide protection, Guleria said: “We have to do a follow-up to find out how long (the immunity) lasts 3 months, 6 months, a year or more. The data How much protective value they provide to people should also be analyzed. ”
“Did it protect against mild infections, moderate and severe infections? Some vaccines will be able to give us total protection, others can protect in such a way that one gets a mild infection, but not a severe infection. Both have a utility, but if you still have an infection you are infectious and you can still spread the infection. So an ideal situation would be a vaccine, which gives you full protection so that you don’t get the infection at all, “he added.
Previously, the coronavirus vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotechnology firm BioNTech was more than 90 percent effective in protecting people from infection compared to injecting saline from placebo, according to an analysis. .
The analysis was conducted by an independent data monitoring committee that met on Sunday.
“I would say it is a historic moment. Something like this has never happened before. In the first place, the world faced such a terrible situation, the pandemic, and being able in such a short time to go through what usually takes many years,” Kathrin Jansen, Pfizer’s chief of vaccine research and development, was quoted by the Washington Post.
Speaking to ANI, Guleria said: “The challenge with the Pfizer vaccine is that it must be kept at a very low temperature, -70 degrees Celsius. That for low- and middle-income countries would be a great challenge to maintain the cold chain. , because having a vaccine that needs to be kept at low temperatures, especially in smaller cities, rural India is going to be a challenge. This vaccine has a lot of potential, but we will have to see other vaccines come out as well. Very encouraging news in the field Vaccine Research For All Vaccine Candidates In Phase III Trials “.
Guleria said that while the claims made by Pfizer need to be reviewed by experts, the announcement was a very promising sign for the other vaccines being made.
“The data, which has been published by Pfizer, although not peer-reviewed, is very encouraging. In phase III trials, more than 40,000 patients were vaccinated, some received the vaccine, some received placebo, and were followed up to see how many of them received Covid-19. It showed high efficacy, almost 90 percent. The data needs to be analyzed more carefully. It is encouraging not only for the Pfizer vaccine, but also for other vaccines manufactured by different companies, “he said . .
The director of AIIMS elaborated further: “It suggests that any vaccine we are making has the potential to provide good immunogenicity and good protection as far as Covid-19 is concerned.”
Speaking about the challenges in the efficiency and duration of the vaccine, for which it will provide protection, Guleria said: “We have to do a follow-up to find out how long (the immunity) lasts 3 months, 6 months, a year or more. The data How much protective value they provide to people should also be analyzed. ”
“Did it protect against mild infections, moderate and severe infections? Some vaccines will be able to give us total protection, others can protect in such a way that one gets a mild infection, but not a severe infection. Both have a utility, but if you still have an infection you are infectious and you can still spread the infection. So an ideal situation would be a vaccine, which gives you full protection so that you don’t get the infection at all, “he added.
Previously, the coronavirus vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotechnology firm BioNTech was more than 90 percent effective in protecting people from infection compared to injecting saline from placebo, according to an analysis. .
The analysis was conducted by an independent data monitoring committee that met on Sunday.
“I would say it is a historic moment. Something like this has never happened before. In the first place, the world faced such a terrible situation, the pandemic, and being able in such a short time to go through what usually takes many years,” Kathrin Jansen, Pfizer’s chief of vaccine research and development, was quoted by the Washington Post.
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