AstraZeneca Vaccine Crisis Dust: Everything Will Be Decided In Next Two Weeks

On the DELFI TV show “Pokalbis” with Daiva Žeimyte-Biliene, the Minister of Health also spoke about the “Sputnik V” vaccine. According to the minister, it is worth not politicizing and follow the evaluation of the impact of the vaccines used in Lithuania.

A. Dulkys also shared quite optimistic summer forecasts.

“I hope that the virus will give us a break because it also has a certain cyclicality. Maybe that summer will allow our people to stay more outdoors, maybe we will manage not to make the numbers worse. “People will be able to take a vacation, and we will have the time in which we can work, be prepared not to get on the same rake again and not have a huge mountain of problems again in autumn and winter,” said the minister. .

The situation may change to the detriment of the vaccination plan

A. Dulkys commented on DELFI TV’s decision regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine. According to him, the safest solution is currently being followed and the results of the investigation are awaited.

“We have to trust those services that do their job. But yes, the head of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said yesterday at a press conference that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks. At the same time, it was announced that this week, Thursday, an extraordinary meeting of the corresponding Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee would be convened, in preparation for the final decisions and the presentation of the final vision. We already know almost 17 countries, which still decided that we would stick to the safest solution and obtain the results of the final investigation, not just guarantees, “he commented on the situation.

The head of the SAM recognized the impact of the situation on the reputation of the vaccine in question.

“Let’s be honest, the situation is changing and not to the detriment of the proper functioning of vaccination. In recent weeks it has been known about AstraZeneca that in one country or another shipment is being suspended and vaccination is suspended for a week. When countries as Sweden, Germany, Italy, France, Spain already announce that it is affecting the reputation of the vaccine, it really costs money. (..)

Reputation is easy to lose, harder to restore. I think both the manufacturer itself and EVA will do their best to dispel any doubts. I personally trust the AstraZeneca vaccine and really, when the time comes to get vaccinated, I will definitely be the first to vaccinate AstraZeneca, ”he said.

According to A. Dulkis, this behavior of the countries that have stopped vaccinating with AstraZeneca vaccines testifies to the responsibility of the parties.

“I see that the pandemic situation in France, Italy and Germany is getting worse these weeks, the numbers are getting worse and at the same time they are making those decisions (stop vaccination with AstraZeneca – aut.past), which means they are really watching because all a day of vaccinating people is also saving lives. (..) But apparently everyone hopes that that reputation can be restored through the fact that people know that all the actors, whether they are decision makers or producers , they look at their work very responsibly and respond to the slightest uncertainty ”, – said A Dulkys.

Expect a smooth vaccination process

The minister assured that Lithuania does not have direct contact with the manufacturer of AstraZeneca, relying on the experience of the World Health Organization, the EEA and the National State Agency for Drug Control. According to A. Dulkis, Lithuania’s vaccine portfolio is diversified and safe, so the vaccination process should be smooth, using vaccines from other manufacturers.

“The regular supplies come from Pfizer. But of course, given that those amounts are modest, let’s say if we now have a balance of more than $ 40,000. Unused AstraZeneca, if we still estimate more than 70,000. It is due to arrive. in March and if the issue is not resolved in a few weeks, more than 100,000 vaccines are frozen. It is definitely a large number for a country like Lithuania, “said the minister.

When asked what to do with people who received the first AstraZeneca vaccine and were waiting for the second, Dulkys said she didn’t think such drastic decisions would be made because the vaccine had been registered and fully tested.

The situation with AstraZeneca, due to the planned mass vaccination, which is due to start in May, has not yet changed the plan, according to the head of SAM.

“Something could change significantly, depending on what final conclusions are made by the responsible organizations and when. If the problems are resolved in a week, two weeks, I think we can get everything back. “I have no doubt that AstraZeneca will not be short of people who want to get vaccinated, because the benefits and the fact that those priority groups that have been vaccinated, that there are actually fewer infections, I think that the knowledge and the signs are really important, ” he said.

Discussing both the damage to the reputation of the AstraZeneca vaccine and the situation with other vaccines, the Minister assured that mass vaccination carries a great risk. No one is immune from these risks.

“No vaccine is protected, there are other side effects in other vaccines. We have repeatedly reported various problems with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine logistics and have stopped shipments due to suspicions about the quality, the quality of the cold chain. When we have a massive process, there are many risks at any stage that could damage the reputation of the vaccine or generate some doubt, ”he explained.

Recognized communication problems

According to A. Dulkis, the current situation forces us to change the Government’s communication plan, and at the same time it may affect the vaccination strategy, plans and priority groups. “With quick decisions, nothing will change here, reputation is something that takes time to win. It no longer has the size of the posters or the beauty of the commercials here. It will also take some time for the process to get back on track.” He said.

The SAM leader also commented on the much criticized SAM communication in the public sphere. A. Dulkys pointed out three main directions of criticism.

“With regard to communication, I would highlight three important areas of criticism on the part of communication professionals. One direction is generally directed, that for many years in our country little attention has been paid to education, education or any vaccination or approach to a healthy lifestyle in general.

The other group, I very much agree, is prone to criticizing the fact that vaccines are being developed, that there will be vaccines, so all countries have already started talking and knew it during the first pandemic. This means that people had to start preparing vaccines in advance, already waiting for the vaccines to arrive in Lithuania, because governments have already started to make reservations since the summer. Things like habit or self-determination are long-lasting, deep, do not arise spontaneously, they need time to change.

The third group of those observations is already dedicated to these days: what is happening now and what we can do with operational communication. This is where we accept criticism. We chose such a dramaturgy that at first we wanted to order the primary sources, open the data to be vaccination data, so that the media would have a place to get it. Then we saw that according to the Public Procurement Law, we cannot organize it very quickly, we turn to non-governmental organizations for help, ”the Minister explained.

A. Dulkys emphasized that the communication steps were dictated in large part by circumstances, accompanied by a lack of time.

“We did not have many options. December 11 we started working and already on December 27. The first vaccines traveled to Lithuania.” Those 15 days are time to think, but we have not been able to do everything possible, “he added.

Doesn’t see the need to discuss Sputnik V

According to the minister, vaccine manufacturers do not plan to supply vaccines to the commercial market this year. At the same time, A. Dulkys said that specific information about vaccine management programs is expected from vaccine manufacturer Johnson & Johnson.

“It just came to our notice then. It is likely that we will not receive vaccines in the very near future and if we do, those amounts will be small enough. The manufacturer will still have to come in,” he explained.

Although some European countries do not rule out vaccination with the Sputnik V vaccine, the minister urged to continue the good experience acquired by the Lithuanian people in vaccination with Western-made vaccines.

“There is geopolitics and all SAM policy is health. Pragmatically, we have a wide range of vaccines. We have booked so many vaccines that we already have plans to help other countries. In general, this discussion about the Sputnik V vaccine does not make any sense to me, neither in terms of logistics nor of quantities (..)

I don’t know if something needs to be done at this stage. I’m not sure, I always thought that a good example is contagious. Finally, let’s look at the facts. We have vaccinated a critical mass of people in the healthcare system and the result is remarkably good. Outbreaks, illnesses and infections have decreased, “he said.

“I don’t see any reason to politicize where there is no politics,” he continued.

The minister also commented on the often criticized creation of a vaccination queue.

“The logic was certainly well founded,” he said, mentioning the priority groups: doctors, nursing home residents and staff, and patients at highest risk.

“According to medical science, they had the highest mortality. Another group followed by age groups and other risk factors. Then there is a large group of people that we are approaching, vaccinating organized structures,” he said.

According to A. Dulkis, these were the recommendations of the experts, which were followed not only by Lithuania, but also by other countries.