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NEW YORK: Pfizer launched a pilot program to deliver its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in four US states as the US pharmaceutical company seeks to address the distribution challenges facing its ultra-cold storage requirements.
Pfizer’s vaccine, which was shown to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data, should be shipped and stored at -70 degrees Celsius, significantly below the standard for vaccines of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.
“We are hopeful that the results of this vaccine delivery pilot will serve as a model for other US states and international governments as they prepare to implement effective COVID-19 vaccine programs,” Pfizer said in a statement on Monday (November 16).
It chose New Mexico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas for the program after taking into account their differences in overall size, diversity of populations, immunization infrastructure, and the need to reach people in diverse urban and rural settings.
The four states will not receive vaccine doses earlier than other states under the pilot, nor will they receive any differential consideration, Pfizer said.
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The company expects to have sufficient safety data on the vaccine from ongoing large-scale late-stage trials by the third week of November before proceeding to apply for the emergency use authorization (USA).
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech have a $ 1.95 billion agreement to supply 100 million doses of the vaccine to the US government, which has the option to purchase up to an additional 500 million doses.
Earlier Monday, rival Moderna said its experimental vaccine was 94.5 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 based on interim data from a late-stage trial, raising hopes that vaccines against the disease are ready for use soon.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use a new technology called synthetic messenger RNA to activate the immune system against the virus.
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