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After Great Britain, Canada and the United States became the first countries in the West to begin vaccinating citizens against the corona virus, with a vaccine produced by the companies “Pfizer” and “Biontek”. Russia is already immunizing its inhabitants with its own vaccine, while it is also doing so in China with a vaccine that was produced in that country. It is not entirely known when Serbia will receive rescue doses, but Pavle Zelic of the Serbian Agency for Medicines and Health Products points out that it is a matter of weeks, not months, when it will be known whether the vaccines from the American association- German “Pfizer” and “Biontek” and Russian “Sputnik”, which are currently controlled in this institution, passed the analysis. The Russian vaccine vials are in the National Control Laboratory of this agency and the documentation of the American and German vaccines is being “combed”.
– There is a possibility to issue a permit for both vaccines at the same time, but it is difficult to say at this time. In our country, employees literally do not stop, they work day and night to verify the documentation of the “Pfizer” vaccine and analyze the samples of the Russian “Sputnik” vaccine, Zelic points out for “Politika”.
– We have a legal deadline of 210 days to come out with a position regarding the issuance of a permit. In this case it will not be like that, but it will be an accelerated process of a few weeks. Because a day shorter than our estimates literally means a life saved for someone who will receive the vaccine. We have that in mind. The most important are quality, efficiency and safety, Zelic adds.
The two statements by Prime Minister Ana Brnabić about when vaccines will arrive in our country caused much controversy in public opinion. He noted that Serbia will receive the first vaccinations against kovid 19 later this year, as well as that his recent statement about vaccines was not well interpreted in the media.
– A company told me that Serbia can only receive vaccines in December 2021, but it is only one company and we are talking to all companies – Brnabić pointed out.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Layen, explains that the EU will coordinate the donations of vaccines from the member states, which will have as main objective to protect health workers in the Western Balkans and the surroundings, and that the vaccine “Pfizer” will be approved, following an evaluation by the European Medicines Agency. at the end of the year and the vaccine from the pharmaceutical company “Moderna” in mid-January. The European Medicines Agency is also conducting vaccine evaluations for Astra Zeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
– My guess at the beginning of the summer was that by the end of the summer of 2021, we ordinary mortals will be able to get vaccinated. Now I see this is lagging a bit. I think we will first get small amounts of vaccines for priority groups in early spring, maybe 100,000 doses. That would be for 50,000 people because two doses are given. One of our best economists, Branko Milanović, did an analysis of this for the whole world. On that map, Serbia is expected to receive greater amounts of vaccines only in 2022. Its assessment is based on the equality of supply and demand, that is, everyone who wants to get vaccinated has the opportunity to do so. This is realistic for healthy people under the age of 65. Before that, we will have doses for health workers, the army, the police, the elderly and the chronically ill, believes epidemiologist Professor Dr. Zoran Radovanović.
Our interlocutor thinks that it is not good that some doctors appear in the media and praise only the Russian vaccine, at the same time that they curse those from the West.
– I don’t know on what basis they say that. Well, many details about the Russian vaccine have not been explained and we still don’t know much. It’s probably good too, but you shouldn’t speculate about something you don’t know because people are confused. We must not be prejudiced about the origin of the vaccine. What was approved by our agency, which has been very correct so far, as well as by the European Medicines Agency and the American Food and Drug Administration, means that it has passed all the tests – adds Dr. Radovanović.
It is interesting that cooperation between British and Russian scientists is planned, who decided to test whether the combination of vaccines produced by “Astra Zeneca” and the University of Oxford and “Sputnik” can provide better protection than two doses of the same vaccine. Testing will begin at the end of the year. Both vaccines are based on a modified version of adenovirus, the virus that causes colds. Mixing and matching different vaccines can provide a solution, and unlike Oxford’s, which uses chimpanzee adenoviruses, the Russian vaccine uses two different adenoviruses to stimulate a stronger and longer-term immune response, Tanjug reports.
– The producers were not clear enough about what cooperation means. The British took the chimpanzee adenovirus, which does not cause any changes in humans, and the Russians, the human virus, that is, two different strains of adenovirus. It is not specified if they will join all that. They may plan to combine them while reducing the dose, and perhaps to establish a longer lasting effect of the vaccines. I believe that cooperation can only benefit. Maybe some volunteers will get the first one based on the chimpanzee adenovirus, and the second one on the human and vice versa, to see if that order affects the effect – thinks Dr. Radovanović.
This is not the only cooperation announced by the Russians. Agreements with Sanofi and GSK have also been announced, which said they needed more research and testing for their vaccine due to a weak immune response among older volunteers. The two companies originally planned to have their vaccines ready for use in mid-2021. The Russians have announced that they will help them develop the vaccine to the end.
And the warning came from Australia, whose authorities rejected the national candidate for the corona vaccine, because volunteers tested false positive for the HIV virus. The vaccine did not make it past the first phase of clinical trials and was developed by the University of Queensland and the biotechnology company CSL. Preliminary data shows that the antibodies generated by the vaccine show false positive HIV test results. Subsequent testing revealed that the volunteers did not have the HIV virus, only that the alert was false and that it is not possible for the vaccine to cause HIV, the CLS said in a statement.
By the way, people in Serbia are quite divided when it comes to vaccines. A study by the United States Chamber of Commerce showed that only a fifth of people would receive the vaccine. It is not entirely clear how long vaccines protect, because the effects are not permanent, although it is assumed that immunity after vaccination can last from several months to two years. UK side effect experiences are now showing up in the media, which is why people are wondering if allergy sufferers can get the vaccine.
It was the Food and Drug Administration of the United States that gave the answer to that question, announcing that the majority of allergic citizens will be able to receive the vaccine against kovid 19, which was developed by the companies “Pfizer” and “Biontek”.
The exception are people who have previously had severe allergic reactions to vaccines or vaccine components, Reuters reported.
In the UK, two people have had a severe allergic reaction as a side effect since the start of vaccination. Therefore, the British Agency for the Regulation of Medicines and Medical Devices has warned that all those who have ever had a severe allergic reaction to medicines or foods should not receive the vaccine.
The management of “Pfizer” announced that during the last phase of the clinical trials, which included almost 44,000 volunteers, there were no cases of serious allergic reactions to the vaccine, reports Tanjug. This also applies to about 6,000 test participants with known allergies, the company said.
On the other hand, it is expected that a drug will appear that will help patients with kovida 19 to heal. The German biopharmaceutical company “Formicon” announced that it has developed a drug that can completely prevent cell infection. The drug is expected to likely get a permit for emergency use in just one year, Deutsche Welle reports. It has been reported that a corona virus blocker called FIB207 has been developed, which can completely prevent cell infection. The drug represents an opportunity for seriously ill patients, for whom until now there has not been a sufficiently effective therapy.
The advantage of the drug is that it blocks the entry that the virus uses to enter cells. In this way, it offers protection against mutations, which also prevents future epidemics of the corona virus.
Antiviral medications like “remdesivir” have been shown to be largely ineffective, while antibody cocktails are only approved for patients in the early stages of the disease. Also, a small mutation is enough to make these antibody cocktails ineffective. The drug is supposed to be able to get a permit for emergency use in early 2022.
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