WHO sees better access to vaccine for low- and middle-income countries

MANILA, Philippines – Oxford / AstraZeneca’s announcement that its candidate vaccine has an average effectiveness of 70 percent against the novel coronavirus not only increases the number of vaccines that governments can access, but also provides “enormous logistical advantages. “to low- to middle-income countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that since the candidate vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is stable and can be stored in a refrigerator at ordinary temperatures of 2-8 degrees Celsius for six months, it helps to ensure that communities have access to a safe and effective system. vaccine.

“[It] It has huge logistical advantages to transport and distribute this vaccine to cities, towns and villages and rural areas around the world. We hope there will be more vaccines like that that are more heat stable, “Swaminathan told a briefing at WHO headquarters in Geneva.

70% average efficiency

In a statement, the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company said that the results of its phase 3 clinical trials in the United Kingdom and Brazil showed 90 percent efficacy among patients who received a half dose of the vaccine, followed by a full dose. at least one month apart.

For those who received two full doses of the vaccine at least a month apart, the efficacy was 62 percent, resulting in an average efficacy of 70 percent.

With their findings, the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine becomes the third candidate vaccine found to be effective against COVID-19. The other two were developed by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna / US National Institutes of Health.

Unlike Pfizer and Moderna, which used the mRNA (messenger RNA) platform, Oxford / Astrazeneca used the viral vector platform, which was based on a weakened version of a common cold virus in chimpanzees.

Although Pfizer’s vaccine is nearly 95 percent effective, it represents a challenge for low-income countries like the Philippines, as it must be stored in a freezer with a temperature of -70 degrees or below. Moderna’s vaccine, which is also 95 percent effective, can also be kept at 2-8 degrees, but only for 30 days.

While the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine is above the WHO reference efficacy of 50 percent, Swaminathan said the WHO needed to see more data on its safety and efficacy, as initial results were based on only more than 11,000 participants.

“The AstraZeneca vaccine is currently being tested in many other countries and eventually we will have data on 60,000 patients that will allow us to make a much more informed decision,” said Swaminathan, adding that the company is already in discussions with them for inclusion in their program of prequalification.

Out in january

Previously, AstraZeneca said that if its large-scale phase 3 clinical trials were successful, it would ramp up manufacturing of its vaccine, which could be on the market in January next year.

The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) had said that AstraZeneca had already expressed its intention to conduct large-scale trials in the country.

Earlier, Carlito Gálvez Jr., head of the National COVID-19 Task Force, said the government had met with AstraZeneca three times and had been assured that the vaccine would be sold at cost. He added that of all the vaccines that had so far been evaluated by the vaccine expert panel, AstraZeneca’s was the cheapest at $ 5 per dose.

“Right now our negotiations [with AstraZeneca] seek to access at least 3-5 million [doses]. But we are working to [raise it to] at least 10 million doses for our leaders, ”said Gálvez.

On Tuesday, Gálvez said that the Philippines could have an advance commitment to AstraZeneca by November and its quota was 20 million doses.

He said AstraZeneca logistics staff, as well as members of the British military, would visit the Philippines to assist in the launch of the vaccine should a deal be reached.

There would also be a tripartite agreement between AstraZeneca, the UK government and the Philippine government, under which the private sector would bear the cost of AstraZeneca’s vaccines, according to International Container Terminal Services Inc. Executive Vice President Christian González.

Initial commitment

He said there was already a commitment of 2 million doses of the vaccine, which would be good for 1 million people.

Half of the volume would be for DOH use and the other half would be for private parties, he said.

“This is just one way in which we, through this tripartite agreement, will once again contribute to this effort of the national government,” said González.

Gálvez said negotiations with Sinovac were being carried out with the help of Chinese-Filipino businessmen, who were negotiating for a lower price for the vaccine.

The government is also talking to Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, he said.

Once the agreements are concluded, these pharmaceutical companies will deliver the 60 million doses the country needs, he added.

Gálvez said that the deployment of the vaccines would be geographic and sectorial.

Areas with a high number of COVID-19 cases would receive the vaccines first, he said. These include Metro Manila and the cities of Davao, Cebu and Bacolod, it added.

Priority sectors

Among the sectors, he said, the poor, the elderly, state security forces and essential workers would take priority.

President Duterte said Tuesday that Interior Secretary Eduardo Año would be in charge of the workforce for vaccine distribution.

Year can call the police and barangay officials for the task, he said.

Mr. Duterte explained his decision to put the police and the military on the priority list for the vaccine, saying that they were the “errand boys of the Republic.”

Soldiers and police officers are the first to respond to calamities and guarantee law and order in the country, he said. INQ

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