CEO of Pfizer in Sweden: starting at the end

Sweden receives 9,750 doses of the vaccine in an initial delivery on Saturday and in some regions vaccination begins on Sunday. Thereafter, deliveries of the order of 80,000 doses per week to Sweden await.

Vaccination can be started after an unprecedented development process, where the European Medicines Agency (EMA) gave the green light to the Pfizers / Biontech vaccine until Monday.

– Of course it is a lot of fun to be the first, but we hope that soon the other vaccines will join us. We need more to cover the need to vaccinate a large part of the population, says Malin Parkler, CEO of Pfizer Sweden.

The maternal vaccine has already started to be used in the US and is expected to be approved in the EU in early January.

It should reach the countries at the same time.

The vaccine is manufactured in part at Biontech’s plant in Germany, but later completed at Pfizer’s plant in Puurs, Belgium. The idea is that all EU countries have access to it at the same time on Saturday.

– The trucks will leave the production plant in Puurs with the aim of reaching all countries on December 26, says Malin Parkler.

– It will be delivered in our ingenious ice boxes that are equipped with GPS and can track the temperature and location of the box.

The vaccine is the so-called mRNA vaccine and requires both storage and storage at minus 70 degrees Celsius. However, efforts are underway to improve the vaccine in that regard.

– The intention is to have a formulation (of the vaccine) that can withstand other temperatures during the latter part of next year.

Questions to solve

The EMA approved the vaccine earlier this week with some reservations. Among other things, more frequent manufacturer follow-up reports are required during the first period than normal.

One question that needs to be resolved is whether people who have been vaccinated can carry the virus without becoming ill themselves, and therefore act as asymptomatic transmitters.

– Since we have not been able to analyze it in our studies, this is something you have to follow, says Malin Parkler.

Another question that needs to be clarified is whether the vaccine is safe for pregnant women. Although the EMA describes the studies as more comprehensive than most other vaccine studies, only a handful of pregnant women have been included, which is not enough to allow conclusions to be drawn.

– We will start studies in pregnant women early next year. We need to do toxicological testing to make sure it doesn’t have any effects you want to avoid, says Malin Parkler.

It is believed to work on the mutation.

A mutated variant of the coronavirus has become widespread in the UK and is feared to be significantly more contagious than variants that have spread previously. However, there is no indication that the Pfizer vaccine is less effective against that variant, says Malin Parkler.

– Of course it is something that we will follow closely. The EMA also does that evaluation and sees no signs that the vaccine is not working against that mutation.

However, it is common for viruses to mutate and vaccines have to be adjusted later to work. Pfizer’s vaccine is good in that regard, as the mRNA technology allows for easy adjustments, says Malin Parkler.

TT: What do you want to say to those who are concerned about the vaccine?

– It is very important that you be humble in front of concerned people. But I hope you are curious enough to think through your decision and make sure you get the knowledge you need to feel safe so that we get as many people as possible getting vaccinated, says Malin Parkler.

– You get vaccinated not only for yourself or for your loved ones, but also for the good of society. We want herd immunity, so we can get rid of the pandemic.

Marc Skogelin / TT