The vaccine is coming: what do we know about it? – Respublika.lt



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Immunity – 3 months

The European Commission, which purchases vaccines centrally, although it has contracts with many manufacturers, has not yet recognized the vaccines they have already developed. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has promised to decide by December 29 at the latest whether to register the first of these vaccines, co-produced by the US company Pfizer and the German company BioNTech. The effectiveness of this vaccine is 95%.

Afterwards, EVA promises to test the vaccine offered by the American company Moderna, which is 94% effective.

Interestingly, researchers at the US National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases have found that this vaccine causes the body to produce antibodies against the coronavirus that last for at least three months.

In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, they stated that antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 that prevent coronavirus from invading human cells “decreased over time as expected, but remained high in all participants for 3 months after vaccination. “

The vaccine, called ‘mRNA-1273’, is given in two doses 4 weeks apart.

Although the level of antibodies in test organisms has decreased over time, this is not necessarily a cause for concern.

“This study provides evidence that a relatively strong antibody response persists 90 days after the second dose of the vaccine. The amount of antibodies produced by the vaccine was higher in younger patients than in older patients, but an immune response was observed. strong enough in patients up to 70 years old, “said Benjamin Neuman, a virologist at the University of Texas.

We bought 2 million. dose

Our Ministry of Health has agreed to purchase vaccines from the following pharmaceutical companies: Janssen Pharmaceutica NV in Belgium, a joint vaccine from BioNTech and Pfizer, CuraVac in Germany, AstraZeneca in the UK, Sanofi Pasteur and GSK and from Moderns in the United States. This latest decision was made last Wednesday at a government meeting.

Therefore, if the joint product of Pfizer and BioNTech is suitable for the European Medicines Agency, Lithuania will receive 1.24 million LTL from the latter two manufacturers under the agreement. dose of vaccine. If the Agency receives the Modernos vaccine, Lithuania will also receive 496 thousand vaccines from this manufacturer. In total, Lithuania expects 2 million doses from different manufacturers.

One thing is clear, we will not receive the vaccine this year. It is expected to receive in January. However, people in the country are concerned about whether the urgently produced vaccine is safe. After all, in the past we were told that producing a vaccine takes several years, it can take up to a decade, and now it has been a year to complete all the processes. Experts now believe that it used to take several months to develop the vaccine and that red tape took several years.

The benefits are beyond question, but there are many unknowns

Professor, infectologist at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Alvydas Laiškonis He said there was no doubt that citizens would be vaccinated with a completely reliable vaccine, and that the fact that this vaccine was produced in record time did not surprise the professor either:

“You see, vaccine production technologies haven’t stayed in one place for a hundred years. If mass production of these vaccines has started, then they are reliable. Nobody allows the production of unreliable vaccines.”

And is it worth vaccinating children? According to A.Laiškonis, it depends on the wishes of the parents. In addition, when you receive the new vaccine, we will also receive instructions from its manufacturers about the age at which the vaccine can be given. What are the side effects of the vaccine, what is the composition of the vaccine, etc. Everything will be indicated as in the prospectus. To prevent further spread of COVID-19 infection, 60-70% should be vaccinated. population of the country.

True, A. Laiškonis admitted that there are people who die from any vaccine:

“It just came to our attention then. People are different. There are people who cannot be vaccinated. We will not know who will not be vaccinated against coronavirus. We will know when we receive the instructions from the manufacturer.

Until now, manufacturers have not disclosed their vaccine formulations, so competitors do not know. It is a corporate secret. Everybody wants to sell their most expensive product.

The vaccination would be administered primarily to physicians, nursing home staff and residents, the elderly, or people at risk due to their illness. You may need to get vaccinated against the coronavirus every year as well as the seasonal flu. But so far there are many unknowns. “

Side effects

Professor at Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine Vytautas Kasiulevičius have an opinion on which vaccine is more reliable.

“All manufacturers work very hard, but it is possible to select the best vaccines, which are already in the registration phase or in production,” explained V. Kasiulevičius. – Of these, I would first highlight the highly effective vaccine, co-produced by the American Pfizer and the German BioNTech, with very few side effects. This vaccine was developed in the spring and trials ended in October. This vaccine is now being administered to doctors in the UK.

In second place would be the American pharmaceutical company Moderna, and I would also mention the British AstraZeneca. There are different types of vaccines developed on different bases. (SAM announces that Lithuania will purchase vaccines whose specific component is ribonucleic acid (RNA) information – aut. Past.).

Are vaccines not dangerous? The side effects of manufactured vaccines are already known. Ten thousand people have been vaccinated since May. Side effects: fever, joint and muscle pain. It is incomparably lighter than that of seriously ill patients with COVID-19 infection. “

Professor V. Kasiulevičius assured that no one would forcibly vaccinate Lithuanian citizens. The main goal is to vaccinate doctors to avoid infecting their patients. Also, the elderly.

How long will the vaccine protect the human body from the coronavirus? According to prof. V.Kasiulevičius, the duration is still being discussed:

Of course, the vaccine will be accompanied by recommendations from the manufacturers. You just have to wait. Vaccination will also begin next week in the US There will be more and more information. The goal is to at least protect the doctors this season. “

Now the most important thing: will the population want to be vaccinated? According to the Lithuanian Center for Social Research, only 36% wanted to get vaccinated against the coronavirus in September. surveyed. Recently, more people are getting vaccinated. Those who recognize the benefits of vaccination and those who deny it are about the same. About 43 percent. – in favor and around 43% – against.

Fear of being summoned by “antivaks”

Vakaro žinios has received feedback from various families raising children that they will not be in a rush to vaccinate the children. They don’t want to turn them into experimental rabbits, they will watch for at least a few years for other side effects after a long time. Medical representatives include. They disagreed because they didn’t want to be called “antivaxaxers.” Because they are not considered that way, they have performed all the necessary vaccinations for their offspring. As they themselves say, very little is still known about the coronavirus to vaccinate blindly.



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