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This decision was made by the Government at the meeting without discussion.
According to the documents of the Ministry of Health (SAM), Lithuania has already made the decision to acquire 1.86 million LTL from the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. doses of vaccines, and from Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, enough vaccines to vaccinate 1.24 million population, unless it is possible to reduce the quantity of vaccine purchased to a quantity sufficient to vaccinate 700 thousand people. Lithuanian population.
According to SAM, Lithuania must make a decision on the purchase of a vaccine against the COVID-19 disease under a contract with the pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur & GSK.
The Ministry notes that under the agreement with Sanofi Pasteur & GSK, Lithuania, like other Member States, will be able to donate part of the vaccines to low- and middle-income countries or transfer them to other European countries.
According to SAM, the working group on vaccines formed by A.Veryga decided that to minimize possible risks, it is convenient to conclude contracts with 2 candidates from each vaccine group / platform.
The pros and cons of this vaccine
The Cabinet is informed of the pros and cons of the Sanofi Pasteur & GSK vaccine.
Preclinical studies are currently being conducted in mice, hamsters, and monkeys.
Among the advantages is that the manufacturer, an experienced and known vaccine format, is a protein vaccine that has been used for many years and contains the SARS-CoV2 S protein, which elicits an effective antibody response and the formation of neutralizing antibodies. .
SAM also notes that preclinical studies are currently underway in mice, hamsters and monkeys, with plans to produce 1 billion doses next year, and registration in the EU and US is scheduled for June 2021.
Among the shortcomings of the vaccine, SAM notes that developers lag behind other manufacturers, lack of data on the results of infection in monkeys (data still pending), lack of data on efficacy and safety, cellular response, its effectiveness it can be reduced due to mutations in the viral protein S.
SAM notes that the pre-purchase agreement stipulates that the initial contribution is non-refundable unless the pharmaceutical company reports or enters Phase III clinical trials. Subsequent payments are divided into stages. The contract would last for one year, but the provisions on damages and liability would apply later.
By the way, the first vaccine delivery is expected to be possible before the official registration procedure.
The contract does not provide for the application pro rata criteria, it is up to the Member States to decide the quantity to be contracted.
Therefore, it is proposed to approve the purchase of this vaccine in a sufficient quantity for people at risk, ”SAM told the Government.
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