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YOU MUST BE READY: The EU system decides if a corona vaccine is safe and effective enough for Norway. The Astrazeneca vaccine and the University of Oxford is one of two for which they have started the approval process. But when the doses come, Norway must have a plan ready. Photo: VINCENZO PINTO / AFP
When FHI receives the first doses in Norway, it may take a few weeks before the first priority groups have received the vaccine in their municipality.
Ten potential corona vaccines are currently in the final and crucial testing phase, with tens of thousands of subjects each. And the approval process for two of these ten has already started in the EU system.
It is not yet clear when the first corona vaccine can be approved in the EU and Norway, but the NIPH has been tasked with being ready to vaccinate people from December 1.
Then, they should be ready to receive the vaccines in their warehouse and send them to their municipality. Even if they have no idea what vaccine will actually arrive, when it will arrive, and whether it should be stored and transported in a refrigerator at or below 70 degrees.
– The actual distribution will take a few days, from the moment we have it in our warehouse until the vaccines go out to the municipalities, says area director Geir Bukholm at FHI to VG.
- Live at 13: On Friday there will be a press conference with the government and health leaders at 1:00 p.m., with vaccines as the topic. Watch it live on VGTV.
They will vaccinate people in the municipality of origin.
Then it will be your municipality that will put the syringe itself.
– We must be absolutely sure that the municipalities are prepared to receive these cars when they come with the vaccine. Work is underway now and we have come a long way on these plans, says FHI top
However, it has yet to be decided who will be given priority in the first round. Healthcare workers and people in the risk group, such as the elderly, often stand out.
But it all depends on the type of vaccine we receive and on whom it works best.
OBTAINED FREE: The government has decided that the corona vaccine will be part of the national immunization program. For FHI it was important to clarify, because it means that they know who has the responsibility: the municipalities. The vaccine will be free. Here, production of the vaccine is being tested for AstraZeneca / University of Oxford in Italy. Photo: VINCENZO PINTO / AFP
– It will take a few weeks to complete the vaccination in the municipalities, but we believe that we will not get a sufficient number of doses of vaccine to be able to offer it to the entire population in the first round. The vaccines will then be used for priority groups, Bulholm notes at FHI.
– I think we can organize a system that is capable of carrying out this type of vaccination in two or three weeks, says the area director.
NIPH notes that municipalities must identify which of their inhabitants are among those who should have priority first.
– It is clear that GPs rely on that type of information. Therefore, it is not surprising that many municipalities choose to use GPs for vaccination, says Bukholm at FHI.
- Did you know Six coronavirus vaccines have already been approved worldwide, although tests have not been completed to show that they are safe and effective against coronavirus. Vaccines cannot be approved in the EU and Norway until they can prove it in phase three of the testing.
Makes shipping plans in minus 20 and 70 degrees
A challenge, however, is that some of the corona vaccines that have gone the furthest in the race require storage and transport down to minus 70 degrees. In other words, a vaccine may have to be shipped to Norway – and even the smallest municipalities farthest from the FHI warehouse – for 70 less.
- What vaccines are there? One of the vaccines for which the EU has already started the approval process is the German BioNtech / American Pfizer vaccine. It uses RNA technology, which means it must be stored very cold to remain stable. If you click on the vaccine for Moderna and Curevac, which are also relevant for Norway, you will see that they also require storage on ice.
– In general, I can say that we have gone quite far in the plans to receive vaccines, store them in Norway and distribute them to municipalities, says Bukholm at FHI.
– Basically, we have plans for storage and transport at refrigerator temperature, that is, from two to eight degrees, but now there are also plans to be able to transport at minus 20 degrees and minus 70 degrees.
The American company Moderna has estimated that its vaccine does not require minus 70 degrees, but 20. And that it can last a few days in the refrigerator temperature before being able to put it. Other RNA candidates are more demanding.
– We know for sure that it will not be minus 70 degrees until the vaccine is placed, says Bukholm.
Although corona vaccines have not yet been approved, millions of doses are produced worldwide. The EU has reserved more than 1.5 billion doses, in the hope that at least one of the vaccines they are focusing on will be successful.
