Private clinics already receive thousands of consultations and search for vaccine freezers: several obstacles

Private clinic managers Delfi interviewed said they had received a large number of recent calls and inquiries about the possibility of obtaining a commercial vaccine. And the clinics themselves eagerly await the availability of commercially available vaccines on the market, even looking at the special freezers needed to store them.

The quantities offered by the producers are not enough

Unfortunately, manufacturers have yet to promise that enough vaccines for everyone will be produced soon. Therefore, for some time the COVID-19 vaccine purchased under the state budget will be vaccinated only by people belonging to risk groups approved by order of the Ministry of Health, who due to their age, health status, nature of work and / or or social activities, are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. and / or develop a severe form of the disease.

The adviser to the Minister of Health, Aistė Šuksta, told the Delfi portal that all transactions related to the purchase of the vaccine are currently being carried out through the European Commission.

“The quantities offered by vaccine manufacturers are not enough to meet the needs of the private sector. However, there are already discussions with the Lithuanian Association of Private Health Institutions about its use for mass vaccination ”, commented A. Šuksta.

Quarantine also threatens next fall

Professor Saulius Čaplinskas, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases and AIDS, also doubted there would be a chance to get vaccinated for money this year. And it’s not very good.

“It may be necessary to reintroduce quarantine next fall if 70% are not vaccinated by fall. Populations. And that, we probably all understand by now, is unlikely not because some people don’t want to get vaccinated, but because they probably won’t get vaccinated. they will produce so many vaccines. We are talking about the needs of the whole world, not just Lithuania. It is unlikely that these vaccines will be on the commercial market next year, “doubted S. Čaplinskas.

The search for vaccines began immediately.

Despite the fact that coronavirus vaccines are not yet commercially available and unlikely to be available in the near future, private clinics are receiving many inquiries about the possibility of vaccinating against COVID-19 for money.

“We also get a lot of questions from our patients about the vaccine and vaccination options. People write, call and ask if they can sign up for the vaccine queues. At the moment, we cannot offer this service to them, but we hope to have that opportunity at the future, ”said Inga Grigienė, director of the Baltic and American Clinic for Surgery and Therapy.

According to the interviewee, the clinic was interested in the possibility of acquiring the vaccine until the first news about its development and approval.

“We understand that medical personnel working on the front lines of COVID-19 need the vaccine most today, but we want private healthcare facilities to be included in the vaccine distribution channels of the future.

We perform a wide range of COVID-19 tests (PCR, rapid antibody and antigen tests) in our clinic on a daily basis, so we must also ensure the highest level of safety for our clinic and our staff and continue to ensure testing of patients. We have contacted authorities about the need for vaccinations for our clinic staff, but so far they have told us to wait. We look forward to the understanding of our government, ensuring safety not only for medical personnel working in public medical institutions but also in private ones, ”said I. Grigienė.

The interest is huge

The availability of a coronavirus vaccine is being negotiated with other clinics.

“We are currently looking for vaccines against the coronavirus, we are talking with suppliers. However, there are no plans to supply vaccines to the commercial market in the near future, at least until the state has finished vaccinating all risk groups.

It is difficult to say exactly when the vaccine will be available to those who want it. We can only predict that the supply of vaccines to the commercial market will be possible to speak with suppliers more specifically only in late spring or early summer, ”said Valerijus Dobrovolskis, Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences, Head of Development and Asset Management at Kardiolitos klinikai and MediCA klinika.

The interviewee also stated that the interest in these vaccines is enormous: “Patients are very interested in vaccines, we receive many requests for vaccination. So we can assume that this vaccine will be in demand in the market. “

The cost of the vaccine is from 2.9 to 18 euros

Diana Bumelytė, General Manager of Northway Medical Centers, also said she was looking for opportunities to purchase commercial vaccines.

“We are talking with companies dedicated to the wholesale distribution of pharmaceutical products. Until now there is no such possibility”, – lamented D. Bumelytė.

According to her, the probability that vaccines will be available in the near future is very low, although there would be a large number of patients who would like to get vaccinated for money.

When asked how much the vaccine could cost, D. Bumelytė said: “It will depend on the cost of the vaccine, transportation and storage costs. As far as we know, today the cost of the vaccine ranges between 2.9 and 18 euros ”, commented the interviewee.

Lithuania is not a very attractive market

Vitalijus Orlov, CEO of Affidea Lietuva Diagnostic Centers, told Delfi that he had spoken with licensed coronavirus vaccine manufacturers, but said no commercial vaccines were planned.

“The question is when they will occur in the near future, because so far there is a great need in Europe to vaccinate as many people at risk as possible. So there are no “free” vaccines yet, “V. Orlov lamented.

The interviewee said that their diagnostic centers have also received many inquiries from natural and legal persons about whether there are opportunities to get vaccinated for money.

“We are all waiting. We all sit on that free bench and wait. But we are small enough players in the vaccine market. First of all, because few people in Lithuania are vaccinated. Usually we get vaccinated at 20 percent. approximately one in five people, and up to 80% in Europe, depending on the country.

We are not as big a market as Germany, Italy or France to be attractive to vaccine manufacturers.

In addition, the most important thing now is to satisfy the public need: to vaccinate the risk groups, “said V. Orlov.

When asked if he planned to buy special freezers to store vaccines that maintain an ultra-low temperature of at least -75 degrees Celsius, the interviewee did not hide: “I would be lying if I said we did not look. We really looked at those freezers. But when it was announced that the vaccines would arrive, they were all abruptly redeemed.

As soon as Pfizer announced that its vaccine needed nitrogen-based freezers to keep it stable, in other words, to maintain a temperature of around -80 degrees, it was immediately ripped off.

V. Orlov doubts that it is realistic to receive a commercial vaccine this year.

“One of the manufacturers said that in 2021, don’t even dream of a commercial vaccine because the demand is high.

When commercial vaccines can be expected depends on how many manufacturers will appear on the market. The vaccine factories are not huge, and the vaccine itself is very sensitive, and there are certain quotas in the Member States.

It is to be expected that in spring or summer more vaccines will appear on the market, and then their availability will be correspondingly greater ”, expected V. Orlov.